Then, burn me
by LillyOfFire
Summary: AU. Shiemi Moriyama, a young Flower Priestess stricken by misfortune, falls in a forbidden love with the exorcist brought at her bedside in the dead of night. But Rin Okumura has a ring on his finger and secrets darker than any Flower Priestess could imagine. Disclaimer: I don't own anything
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1**

A/N – Hello everyone! I must say I'm pleasantly surprised about how much attention the 'trailer' of this fic got right off the bat, especially seeing how this is my first Blue Exorcist story ever. And to be honest, I'm always a bit nervous when writing new characters. *takes a deep breath* Here it goes, hope you guys enjoy it ;)

* * *

A harsh wind was blowing from the east, carrying with it an unsavory scent of bad food and garbage, but not cold enough to harden the mud under their boots. In the dark, the unpaved path among the uneven rows of dwellings would have been treacherous for the unadvised walker, sharp boulders dotting the sticky layer which seemed purported to suck in footwear. Konekomaru Miwa was shivering in his thin clothes – ever since he'd come to the capital this particular peculiarity of the weather was constantly taking him by surprise – the days were hot, sometimes unbearably so, while the nights were unexpectedly cold.

The young monk stopped under a pale streetlamp while icy fingers dug into his coat pocket and impatiently whipped out a piece of paper, unfolding it.

"I believe we're close now, master," he said. "The house is somewhere around here…"

A snort came in reply. "The slums for me, eh, Konekomaru?"

The boy sighed again. "I supposed that's why it's called penitence work. But there's nothing shameful in it, an exorcist's work is nothing but noble."

"Oh… so Mephisto instructed you to lecture me as well, on top of everything. Just because I burned his stupid statue! Should have done more, for good measure…"

"I-I wasn't lecturing you, master. Oh, there! There it is!"

The house they were seeking was indeed in sight, mounted as it was on a small hill of sorts, the slope covered by a modest but well tended garden. A small path of white, smooth stones led from the rusty gate up to two low wooden pavilions, winding among rich shrubbery and flowerbeds. The garden looked beautiful in the moonlight and the air was surprisingly fragrant, making the nearby stench and filth of the slums a distant memory.

"Only a Flower Priestess could turn a place like this into a piece of heaven," Miwa noticed, trotting up the path, followed closely by the cloaked figure. He warily assumed that under the large hood pulled down to his mouth, his master was still grumbling profanities.

"A Flower Priestess?"

Konekomaru stopped in front of the door, hand extended to knock and scowled, turning abruptly. "Master, have you not read-…?"

No answer.

"Well then, I shall _remind_ you. The victim is a young girl named Shiemi Moriyama, a Flower Priestess just like her grandmother, born with the gift. The grandmother passed away a short while ago, only the mother remains. She would not give me many details, only that the girl is plagued by a demon which shows up at all hours and torments her horribly." The monk paused, sighing. "You know, master, the problem is that simple people are often reluctant to speak of… such matters. It's rather shameful, since it is believed by many that the person pursued by a demon must have done something to deserve it."

He turned and knocked and almost immediately the door was pulled aside and a sturdy woman in her forties dressed in an old kimono showed up in the frame. She was definitely expecting them and no words were passed between her and the two guests. Konekomaru showed her the exorcist pendant hanging around his neck and they were shown towards the other pavilion, more withdrawn from sight.

"She wouldn't say a word to me," Mrs. Moriyama said bitterly, after unlocking the door. Then she left them.

The two boys watched the deep darkness beyond the open door, like a gaping mouth.

"Master, are you sure you can handle-"

"Now, what the hell could happen, Konekomaru? I reckon that I took care of worse, what couldn't I possibly handle?"

"You haven't handled things of finesse, master. To fight a demonic entity on its own is one thing, but to remove one attached to a human without hurting the human…" The little monk sighed. "It takes a more meticulous and delicate approach."

Rin rolled his eyes, taking off the black cloak. He wasn't supposed to be seen, but then again, unlike his older brothers he had quite the ordinary, human appearance so it was little chance anyone would recognise him. Not in the dark and not in a place like this either.

"At any rate, I'll be right outside, master. So if you need me-"

"Yeah, I'll scream. Here, take this and put it on," the demon boy said, tossing the heavy fabric into his servant's arms."Or you'll be frozen solid by the time I'm done in there."

* * *

She lay in bed, awake yet motionless under the soft covers. The room was cold, since the window above her bed was open, but Shiemi would not move from her spot to close it. If she had, that dreadful feeling of being locked up in a coffin would come back. But she was locked in a prison anyway, and only the demon opened the door from time to time. The demon and her mother actually, and she honestly couldn't tell which was worse.

' _Tonight, at midnight, an exorcist will come to see you_ ' her mother had informed in a reproachful whisper, and suddenly a far deeper dread had gripped the poor girl. Exorcists were almost without exception priests by profession and Shiemi had always dreaded priests. They were supposed to be good people, but their faces were often hard, their eyes judging and their lips quick to utter punishment.

Perhaps that was why the demon had yet to come tonight.

The blonde made an effort to sit up, even if her aching body protested from every joint, and pulled the ragged drape separating her bed from the rest of the room. She would not even let the exorcist see her, let alone touch her. If he could, he was welcome to do his job – whatever that was – from behind the drape.

It wasn't long before light steps resounded and someone unseen entered the room, finding their way in the dark with surprising ease.

"Er… hello?" a soft and youthful voice said, unsure. "Are you in there, Miss Ma-… uh Mori-uh…"

"Moriyama."

"Right… Miss Moriyama. So, could I-?"

"No!" she yelped weakly. "I m-mean, please don't… I-If you could remain behind the drape…"

"Right… if that's what you wish."

Shiemi flinched when in the next moment a hand slipped in at the end of the drape, an exorcist pendant dangling from the long fingers. She squinted in the dark at the pale appendage, striking in its whiteness, almost too small and delicate to be a man's. Then the hand withdrew and the small stool her mother had brought in earlier creaked.

"It's alright," she said, not offering to light up the oil lamp.

"So, Miss Moriyama, could you tell me what exactly is going on?"

"No."

The blonde curled up between the sheets, with her back turned to the unseen figure. He may have been a young exorcist – probably not an _aria_ since he was bad with names – but like hell she was going to make things easy for him. Besides, it wasn't like she could just… open her mouth and _say it_.

"You are hurt."

She was. And her mother patching her up after every _visit_ , her mute face clearly spelling the unspoken hatred towards the daughter who had inherited the gift she herself had been deprived of was worse that the demon's teeth and claws.

"My grandmother used to say that this gift holds great peril… Do you believe it's true? That my gift brought this upon me?" she whispered.

"Who knows… it's your gift so terrible?"

Shiemi turned slightly and held her hand up into the stray moon rays pouring in through the window, and with a quick spell manifested a few ripe dandelion stems. The breeze quickly scattered and carried the flakes upwards, towards the low ceiling and over the drape.

"What-…? HAH! AH-CHOOOOO!"

Along with the startling sneeze a burst of blue light erupted on the other side of the cloth, making the blonde jump up from her spot, yelping as she curled up against the wall on the other side of the bed. _What the hell was that?!_

"Apologies," said the exorcist, as if nothing had happened.

Calming her panting somewhat, Shiemi found herself driven by a strange and unexpected curiosity, enough to move and reach for the oil lamp resting on the windowsill. A tiny flame was all it could muster, but it was enough to chase away the night shadows. After that, she crept back across the mattress and her hand moved with a will of its own, pulling the drape aside brusquely.

Whatever question had dwelled on the blonde's lips, it died unspoken.

Her eyes widened, and all she could do was stare. The exorcist was not what she expected at all, even though the pendant she'd been shown earlier now hung on his chest, over rough black garments. The boy was younger than expected – around her age, Shiemi guessed – and he was unearthly beautiful. His spiky hair was as black as the darkest night and his skin as white as the most expensive writing paper, but the most striking were his eyes – a deep shade of blue, somewhere between sapphire and paraiba gems.

"How much do you charge per night?" she heard herself ask, like an afterthought, and immediately afterwards a malicious laughter broke out in the small room. The blasted demon was there after all.

The exorcist frowned, eyes briefly shifting their focus from Shiemi's face to somewhere past her shoulder. He nodded slowly, ominously.

"O-Oh God, please forgive me!" Shiemi cried pitifully, averting her gaze and hands flying to her mouth, suddenly aware of her messy, sweat-matted hair and the multitude of bandages covering her body under the thin gown. She must have looked absolutely hideous and now the demon was putting foul words in her mouth too.

"Miss Moriyama, please look at me," the boy said and reached out to cup her plump cheek, tilting her face up. "You're tired, you have to rest now." His hand was warm against her skin, but it only lingered there for the briefest moment. "Sleep, you're safe tonight."

His thumb traced a complicated sign on her forehead and Shiemi leaned back on the pillows, feeling suddenly drowsy. The exorcist stood to leave.

"N-No, please don't-…"

"I'll be back tomorrow night. Please, get some rest, Miss Moriyama."

"Shiemi…" the blonde whispered as the door was closing in his wake, just before falling asleep.

* * *

Her mother moved stiffly around the room, placing a small bowl of rice at the foot of the bed and a bucket of clean water. Shiemi had wanted to pretend that she was still asleep, even if it was well past noon by now, but her eyes had opened and she'd seen her mother, really _seen_ her the way she hadn't in a long while. She'd gotten dry and bitter, the joyfulness of youth gone from her step.

"You look better today," Mrs. Moriyama said, avoiding her daughter's gaze. "Might want to clean yourself up and change your clothes."

She did feel a bit better, so as soon as her mother was gone from sight Shiemi got up and reached for the bucket, peeling off the dirty gown she'd had on for more than a week now. She washed as thoroughly as the bandages would allow and rinsed her hair, then put on a clean dress.

' _What do you think he has that I don't?'_ a hissed voice asked, followed by the familiar chuckle, and Shiemi turned abruptly, horrorstruck and nearly knocking off the bucket. But there was no one behind her.

' _You dumb whore'_ the demon cackled, _'No one can save you from me.'_

After that, hours passed in a horror-filled succession until midnight found Shiemi curled up under the covers, even more terrified than the night before. The demon could not touch her for now because of the exorcist's mark, but instead it had chosen to taunt her with poisonous words and threats.

' _If only he knew the truth about you… he'd not spare you another glance, you wretched thing_ '

The demon was probably right.

' _So I dare you to tell him.'_

* * *

"I will answer your questions if you agree to answer mine."

She exhaled, staring blankly at the dark ceiling. A light breeze was coming through the small window above her bed, making the thin drape flutter slightly and blurring the shape of the person sitting on the other side.

"I can do that," the exorcist replied simply, to her complete surprise. Why would he?

"Really? You'll answer any question I ask?"

"Yes."

Shiemi found it rather peculiar that someone would indulge her in this fashion, but still, it was a welcome distraction. After all, there were only these moments when she could forget about the pain. When it would somewhat… fade in the background. She hadn't even thought about what exactly she wanted to ask the boy, other than his name.

"Then I will tell you."

 ** _To be continued_**


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

A/N – Hello my dear readers! I am so… so… happy and grateful for all your amazing feedback as well as completely wrapped in this plot. Anyway, I took down the 'trailer' because it did contain some vague yet still-there spoilers and I wouldn't want to ruin any surprises in advance for you, would I? Better to just have everyone shocked when it happens ;)) And for now, without further rants on my part, enjoy the new chap;)

* * *

Shiemi Moriyama was beautiful.

Even covered in rags and bandages and scars, she was beautiful. Rin couldn't exactly pinpoint what exactly about her was so endearing, but it was rather something indefinite in her gracious frailty and those lovely, large green eyes which had stared back at him with a mixture of fear and pure awe, in that nearly magic moment when he'd laid eyes on her for the first time (and which _of course_ her demon had promptly and successfully ruined). It was also in her gift with the ways of nature, and which could only have sprung from a kind and compassionate heart, in that absolute innocence of her spirit which was entirely free of any malice, rejection or judgment. All that wasn't something he'd stumbled upon often, if ever. People like Shiemi Moriyama did not belong in _his_ world, so he took this encounter as a precious gift, past the absolute novelty of the situation.

Rin had had more than a week of sleepless nights by now, as part of the blasted penitence work imposed by Mephisto, and things hadn't exactly gone smoothly along the way either. Only the previous night, upon leaving Shiemi's house they'd gone to tend to a few other patients before the break of dawn and a possessed man had attacked Konekomaru, very nearly getting the little monk good. A tuft of the man's hair had actually needed to be set on fire before the spirit had finally given up and abandoned their victim's exhausted body. All that being said, this was the only visit he was actually not dreading, yet still not quite daring to look forward to. One never knew when things could simply go awfully wrong.

But still, he should not get worked up too soon. At least for now she'd agreed to talk, so maybe getting to the root of her misfortune without employing ultimate means might have been possible after all.

"So… your mother says you won't speak to her. Why is that?"

On the other side of the drape, Shiemi gasped, almost inconspicuously, but resisted the urge to curl up again and fall into a stubborn silence. What would he think of… well, he'd probably end up thinking badly of her anyway, very badly. This was only the beginning.

"Please… tell me your name first? It would be more comfortable if at least… I knew your name," the blonde thought, only afterwards realizing she'd actually said it out loud.

"It's Rin. Rin Okumura."

His human name couldn't have possibly meant anything to her.

Shiemi exhaled slowly, trying to keep her voice steady. "Well, Rin Okumura, do you think it's wicked and disrespectful for a daughter to disagree with her mother's decisions?"

"I think it depends on the decisions, no?"

The blonde squirmed slightly, fingers twisting in the covers. "She wanted me to marry. She said that we're alone in the house, that we have no man to protect us. And since she is already too old… and I could still practice as a priestess, even if I got married, just like Grandmother… Anyway, she found a man. He was much older than me and I loathed him from the very moment I laid eyes on him, he was a brute. But mother said he'd be good for us, he'd keep us safe and fed if things were to go badly and no one would bother us again. But then he-"

' _I don't think you should tell him after all. What would be the point? He'd pity you at most'_

Shiemi opened her eyes and suddenly the demon was there, hideous face hovering above her, mouth full of sharp teeth and yellow eyes full of malice. A clawed hand reached down for her throat.

"YOU'RE PISSING ME OFF! STOP TAUNTING AND FUCKING SHOW YOURSELF ALREADY! Fucking come out and have a taste of my fl-"

Rin stopped in mid-sentence, eyes wide in horror as he saw Shiemi having curled up at the end of the bed in horror as he'd dashed forward through the drape, literally jumping onto the bed. But the demon _had been there_ , ready to harm the girl again, the bastard had simply lied in wait for the mark to wear off.

 _Shit._ "I-I'm sorry, Miss Moriyama… I just-"

"You saw it too! Y-You can see it?!"

The boy nodded, half-shrugging. He could _hear_ it too, even when the demon spoke to her only, but since that wasn't something a human exorcist would have been able to do it was better kept under wraps.

"Miss Moriyama, please forgive my bad temper and foul mouth," he grumbled awkwardly, retreating. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"Please… stay," the blonde whispered. "And it's Shiemi."

Rin mustered a wry smile. "Right, Shiemi… Uh, I forgot about something." He dug in his back pocket and took out a small bottle of sorts. "A healer gave me this for you. Works better and faster than the traditional… eh, patching up if you will, so if you'll allow me-"

The blonde relaxed somewhat and laid back down on the pillows, eyes trained on the exorcist's fingers as he carefully unscrewed the tiny lid.

"You were telling me something about your mother and the fiancée she'd chosen for you," the demon boy said, focused on pouring some of the liquid on his fingertips and tracing a complicated pattern along her bare arm.

Combined with the magic, the potion would seep into her whole body and gradually heal any injury she'd sustained, without the need of further, often ineffective examination. This was also something regular healers would not have been able to provide, but Shiemi's condition was rather poor and Rin was willing to bend more than a few 'professional rules' to help her. Well, not that he'd ever had any qualms about bending the rules in general and he could safely bet on her ignorance in the matter anyway.

It wasn't like she could ever imagine _who_ and _what_ he really was.

Shiemi sighed, wondering if she would be able to do it after all. It had seemed easier earlier, but now… with him so close, _touching_ her… Rin had light, gentle hands, and the touch of his fingers was soft, even if their pads were somewhat calloused – the hand of someone working with tools all day, like Grandmother's hands had been.

 _Or the hands of someone wielding a weapon._

Quite the strange thought, but then again maybe exorcists did use weapons upon occasion? Shiemi had no clue about it, but exploring hypotheses was still something… anything to get a distraction from the present moment. But then, before she had to go further with the story, maybe she could ask him another question?

"I told you something, Rin. So, my turn now?"

"Sure."

"Do you… use a weapon of sorts? I mean, in general? Do exorcists use weapons?"

Rin nodded. "Yeah, swords and spears. I… uh… was trained to use a sword, but it's not-… uh… often required that I carry it around, you know?"

Shiemi looked at his hands some more, wondering what exactly about her question had made the boy uncomfortable and brought that stiffness in his shoulders along with the almost inconspicuous pause in his movements. Maybe he was still wary about scaring her earlier and thought that this talk of weapons was making things worse?

Darn, apparently the little Flower Priestess was far more intuitive than Rin had given her credit. If she could tell just by looking at his hands that he was a weapon wielder… And she had been _studying_ him too, apparently. Which was in itself a complete surprise, because it had never ever occurred to Rin that someone might actually bother to do that. He just didn't think there was anything worth studying to begin with.

"So what happened afterwards? With your fiancée?"

The blonde gulped, eyes still fixed on the exorcist's fingers, since she would not dare look up at his face. And then suddenly she saw it, gleaming palely in the moonlight – a small circle of gold hugging his fourth finger. She blinked, in utter confusion, could he be…? But it looked so odd! On a hand so small, a boy's hand, not a man's, a wedding ring looked almost… _wrong_.

And somehow it just made everything so much worse, even with the relief that under these circumstances he couldn't have been a priest.

"He's dead," Shiemi said simply, allowing her eyelids to drop. _And I'm not… I'm not sorry… "_ The demon killed him. Only… that didn't happen right away… First, there was the engagement. If only my grandmother had still been alive, I just know she would have been on my side and she would have opposed my mother's choice… But I couldn't. And after that…"

' _HA! HA! HA! You don't have the guts to-_ '

She took a deep breath, willing away the choking lump in her throat. "One night he came at the house... He barged in here, reeking of alcohol, and he said… 'We are betrothed already, and I have desires, you know. Do _you_ not have desires? I don't want to wait anymore.' And he… didn't." By now, her voice had been reduced to a mere string of faint sobs and tears were sliding down her cheeks, soaking the pillows. "I cried and screamed, I called for my mother, she was in the other room, but she didn't come! Not until morning, when he was gone, and she said it was alright, because he was still going to marry me, that he'd already… signed the papers. And I just-… just-…"

"Shiemi… please, stop tormenting yourself," the demon boy said softly and she opened her eyes to discover that instead of pulling away, repelled, Rin had entwined his fingers with hers and was now leaning over her, his expression a mixture of pain and dread. Pain because he could feel her suffering almost viscerally and dread because he didn't know how to soothe it, he was clueless how to react to it even, because, God, he was almost a child himself, after all.

"Rin… this is how I damned my soul." Shiemi struggled to prop herself up, looking him straight in the eye. "This is why the demon is here to punish me! I hated him so much, both him and my mother, but especially him! I hated him so much that I said I wanted the mouth Hell to open and swallow him alive! I gave myself to hatred and this is my punishment!"

"LIKE HELL!" the exorcist shouted and there was another burst of blue light, this time much more powerful than when he'd sneezed, and for a few moments it engulfed his whole body before extinguishing rapidly.

 _Ahhhhh shit! SHIT!_

"W-Was that… _your_ gift?"

"H-Huh?"

"The blue light. Is… See, I made a little deduction," Shiemi said shyly.

Shit, this was bad! Rin genuinely panicked, her _deductions_ were beginning to creep him out. What if she had actually deduced-

"Well, you're not a priest, you're very young, so in order for you to be a full-fledged exorcist already you must have a gift of sorts that you were born with, right?"

He exhaled slowly, relieved. That was right, Shiemi Moriyama wasn't exactly the average human, she had grown up surrounded by all sorts of _gifted_ people… Although probably blue light was not something they were capable of.

"It's beautiful, by the way."

Rin flinched. _Beautiful_? What, his flames?! What was she saying?

"Your blue light… Blue is my favorite color."

Shiemi gasped, averting her gaze. Damn, she shouldn't have said that! Oh, why?! While blue was indeed her favorite color… a lot of the presently surrounding things were blue, like _Rin's_ _eyes_ , for example. The thought brought the faintest shade of color in her cheeks in turn, but… no. She couldn't think of such things. She had no right to.

' _That's right, because you're a whore, you are tainted… And he belongs to someone else."_

"Oh… then… thank you. But it burns stuff, so I'm not actually supposed to use it unless there's no other way…. Anyway, sorry for scaring you again and, well, because you wasted your turn," he said smiling.

The blonde blinked, disbelieving. Would he still answer her questions? Would he still act friendly and carefree around her, even after hearing _all that_? Could it have been… that he didn't think of her as the culprit?

"So what does the demon want, Shiemi? What does it say to you, if it speaks at all?"

She shook her head.

"Shiemi, none of this is your fault! This is not atonement for your sins, this was never _your_ sin!

' _Another night has passed, now the dawn is breaking and you're still empty handed, you stupid little boy! You'll never get her away from me. Never!'_

Rin just gathered the girl into his arms and held her, soothingly stroking her hair until she was asleep again. Well, maybe third time would be the charm.

 ** _To be continued_**


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

A/N – Hello everyone! Again, I am so grateful for all the amazing feedback, favs and follows this story has gotten so far and I must confess that I'm so happy that I finally started writing for this fandom. And now, to actually include something useful and relevant in my rants for once, I would like to point out that for plot purposes Father Shiro Fujimoto will be (and remain) alive throughout this story. I hadn't originally planned it so, but the idea came to me recently and in it went. So there! Enjoy the new chap ;)

* * *

The scorching heat of midday had mostly faded and the air was warm and still, filled with vegetal fragrances. Shiemi's gaze wandered over the blossoming garden and she allowed herself the small joy of noting that the countless flowers and plants had thrived even without her care as of late. Drawing a full, deep breath, she relished in the feel of the gentle grass blades against her bare legs as she sat down, the earth soft under her open palms as the blonde inhaled its rich scent.

Grandma had loved this garden so much!

So much that her spirit must have endured here, in the very essence coursing through trunks, branches and stems, making leaves grow strong and embracing towards sunlight, adding wondrous colors in the petals of flowers. And Grandma had loved _her_ , even more than the garden, Shiemi remembered, looking up at the large rhododendron bush planted on her fifth birthday, the lovely, pale blue flowers reaching upwards like countless delicate butterflies. So, so blue…

And that was why the old priestess had made her own gift awaken in Shiemi, the same gift she'd denied her own daughter. Or maybe she hadn't actually done so – it wasn't something to ever be spoken of - maybe it just hadn't been meant to be any different. Either way, the life-giving gift had soon turned to poison between mother and daughter and had eventually brought upon the daughter the ultimate curse and stigma of sin.

 _That's why I ask of you, give in to me once and for all…_ the demon spoke, to her ears only. _You need me here, can't you see that only as my toy you are safe? The young exorcist will maybe see his job finished, he will walk out the door, back to his wife, without a second glance and you'll be left to your fate. And how long will it be, you think, before your wretched mother finds another man to throw you to?!_

"NO!" the blonde cried, shaking her head. "No, that's not true!"

 _What is not true?_

Silent tears began sliding helplessly down Shiemi's cheeks as she curled up on the ground, like a small, wounded animal. "Grandma, if only you hadn't left me!" she sobbed.

A light breeze swept over the petite girl's golden strands, ever-so-gently, almost like a caress.

* * *

"I can't believe you did this to me, Konekomaru! What the hell?! That's really the last thing I needed!"

The little monk smiled lightly under his hood, not taking his master's angry rant seriously. If nothing else, Rin was in a professional pinch momentarily and could have used the priest's advice. And now that the appointment had been made, there was no backing down from it without being rude.

"But he can help and besides, I'm sure he's missed you in these past three years."

"Tch! He'll scold me!"

The demon boy scowled, petulant. The truth was that… well, he'd actually missed Father Shiro Fujimoto too after the completion of his training, after all the priest assigned with tutoring the twins had been the closest to a father figure they'd ever known. But the almost parental bond formed between them scared the demon boy now even more than back when Shiro had had (and had, at least in Rin's case, plentifully used) the right to discipline them. His twin Yukio had always been the teacher's pet and ever the obedient, hard-working student, but the rebellious Rin had been a pain in the ass through and through, yet Shiro loved them both equally as if they had been his own children. And it was that love and endless care which now would have entitled the priest to ask certain questions Rin would be unable to answer except with crafted lies.

The sun had gone almost gone down by the time the two boys reached the monastery, and Rin had the impression that the cluster of buildings had somehow gotten smaller since the last time he'd been there. They crossed the barren courtyard where several ritual fires had been lit in old, cracked stone jars, sending golden sparks afloat in the air, and made their way inside the narrow, dark hallway leading to the library.

"I took the liberty of telling Father Fujimoto what this is about, on a general basis," Konekomaru said. "And I think he could-…" The little monk trailed off upon noticing the sudden tension which had come upon his master, evident in his hunched shoulders and slightly clenched hands. It was as if every step forward was making him cringe in discomfort.

* * *

A single oil lamp was throwing pale, flickering shadows over the rows of bookshelves, but the demon boy knew that his former tutor was presently studying him with a sharp eye. Still, he'd had no choice but to sit across from the man at the long reading table, the piles of dusty tomes lying around in the usual disarray doing nothing to shield him from the other's scrutinizing gaze.

"You know, I was going to ask you how life is these days," Shiro said with a light smile, "But considering the overall circumstances, I suppose it's same old, same old, no?"

 _Namely throwing the usual horrid tantrums and getting things burned to ashes_.

"Yeah, well, Mephisto pisses me off," Rin replied bluntly, averting his eyes.

The priest sighed, resting his chin in the heel of his palm. "How's so? From our past conversations I remember him telling me that I was much too harsh and that he for one would never punish you. He seemed like quite the gentle and overprotective older brother."

"Indeed, he doesn't _punish,_ soI must have crossed the ultimate line this time by damaging his object of self-adoration," the demon boy grumbled ill-humoredly. "But most of the time, the shit he showers upon people is entirely gratuitous…"

"I see."

Rin exhaled tensely, trying as inconspicuously as possible to withdraw his ring hand from view. The gesture was nearly instinctive and quite useless, because Father Fujimoto knew that he was married, but still he absolutely dreaded a question on the subject, since the priest would have surely seen right through any lie he would have offered, pressing for the truth.

And the truth was not an option.

"I'm not sorry though that he's given me this opportunity now," the demon boy said quickly, seeking to break the dangerous silence and guide the conversation away from unwanted topics. "I mean, I see the penitence work as an opportunity to help people, in a different manner than usual. Like, on a more personal level."

 _Personal._

Shit, this was wrong. He really _wasn't supposed_ to take this personally, make any of it an issue beyond strictly professional tasks. For a moment Rin thought he'd spotted a glint of secret amusement in his former mentor's eyes.

"Different as in dealing with things you can't slash away at with your sword?" Shiro observed. "Miwa told me about the girl possessed by a demon which won't show up for a fair fight. Seems like a difficult case… not something stumbled upon often in our line of work."

The brunet chewed on his lip, rather nervous. Why was it suddenly so damn hard to even open his mouth and speak about it? Why was he so paralyzed with the fear that the simple mention of Shiemi Moriyama would somehow make him give out that he had an inappropriate interest in her? That there was a strange tightness in his chest every time he thought of the little blonde Flower Priestess.

"Well… actually I figured out why the demon won't come out," Rin began, clearing his throat and leaning forward on his forearms. "There are some things… um… that she wouldn't tell me out of embarrassment, but I was able to put two and two together. The demon attacked her fiancée, but not her mother or me, even if we both touched her." He paused, eyebrows rising slightly. "I mean, to treat her wounds. So not… _that way_. Besides, on the first night the demon used her own mouth to make a rather offensive comment… so in the end I concluded that it must be an incubus. And it won't come out and show its true form unless someone were to try and claim its prey."

He heard the priest scratch his small beard. "Hmmm… Are you sure about all this? The children of Lilith do not come un-summoned one way or another, or beckoned by impurity or malice… But Flower Priestesses are pure beings, their life-giving gift is the very proof of that."

Rin stared thoughtfully at the back of his fingerless gloves. "Well, there is something else. Shiemi inherited her gift from her grandmother, but her mother doesn't have it. And Konekomaru told me that the children of gifted people who do not inherit the gift of their parents are considered… I don't know… like there's something wrong with them?"

"That they're not loved by the Gods?" Shiro supplied.

"Yeah, that. And then there's also the intended marriage to a man she didn't want."

"I understand what you mean. It's not impossible that the mother is the cause, then."

Father Fujimoto sighed deeply, standing from his chair and turned to the row of books behind him, beginning to rummage through the tomes. After a while he pulled out a heavy volume and blew off the dust from the covers.

"So… _Shiemi_ , isn't it?" he murmured like an afterthought, opening the book and turning the pages without hurry.

Rin tensed instantly, eyes quickly shifting from the volume to the priest's face, but Shiro wasn't looking at him. He'd screwed up nevertheless, he was sure of it! The demon boy frowned, pondering on a potential explanation in case the subject was explored some more – he supposed that ultimately he could say that he'd only used her first name because the girl was so small and childlike. Maybe he could even pretend not knowing that they were the same age… or something. No, no, the more explanations someone gave the more obvious it was that they were lying! _Damn it._

"Here," the priest pointed eventually. "Prayers and fatal verses against the sons and daughters of Lilith." The tips of his fingers skimmed through the text, then turned the page. And then another page. And another. "Eh… looks like it's all that… let's see."

He began to read out loud, during which time Rin proceeded to stare, cross his eyes and ultimately grit his teeth, scowling openly.

"Huh?! There's no way in hell I could remember all that!" And if he wrote it down and tried to read it, the demon could simply snatch the sheet from his hands and laugh in his face, or something similar. "Besides, I've never used fatal verses, I'm not an Aria. And who the hell knows what would happen to _me_ if I did that…?!"

"Shit, then," Shiro concluded. "Let Konekomaru do it, while you watch his back. Or… if you must really do it yourself, you could decide to employ less orthodox means to go about it," the priest said, his voice lowering to a mere whisper as he leaned back in his chair. "You know what you have to do to draw it out."

Rin blinked.

"Just pretend convincingly and without prior explanations, because the incubus must think it's happening for real. And when it springs out, ready to fight tooth and nail for its prey, torch the bastard."

The demon boy buried his face in his hands, grumbling something along the lines of how this wasn't going to work at all and how he couldn't even begin to describe how just plain _wrong_ it was. Seriously, had Shiro drunk too much wine at dinner again?! Goodness, there really wasn't any worse way for this whole thing to go!

"Rin, you're not a priest and you can be sure that the incubus has become aware of exactly _what_ you are the moment it laid eyes on you for the first time. I don't know if it's told the girl about it too or not – it would be rather unfortunate if it did and even more so if she believed it – but either way it's not unusual for demons to fight over prey. If you were to show foul intent, no one would suspect it to be fake."

 _Great! This was really helpful and encouraging. Thanks a bunch!_

Shiro's logic was probably solid on some level, but how could he think-… Fight over prey? It sounded so gruesome, so flesh-shriveling. What was Shiemi, a toy? A piece of meat? The thought alone was beyond revolting. He pulled the open volume closer and turned it around, rolling up his left sleeve. He would rather take his chances with the standard exorcism procedure.

"Okay, give me a pen and tell me again which lines."

 ** _To be continued_**

A/N – I know what everyone who hasn't seen the initial 'trailer' is probably thinking, even if no one's said it so far… Just who the hell is Rin married to?! Not to mention that he doesn't seem the type either, age and everything else aside :)))) Trust me, people, everything has a perfectly logical explanation which will be delivered to you in due time and not a moment sooner ;))


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

A/N – Hello my dear readers! Just so you know, I suck at introductions and author notes, so don't expect any miraculous improvements in this department :)) Nope, not gonna happen. Okay, I've been keeping you under suspense until now, but now, finally… things get really complicated. So this chapter is rather challenging and I hope I didn't make a mess of it ;) Enjoy!

* * *

"I… I thought you wouldn't come back," Shiemi whispered, her large green eyes shining with unshed tears which threatened to spill onto the pale cheeks at the lightest touch.

The demon boy cringed upon hearing those words, spoken as if from the brink of a bottomless abyss. If at first she'd been numb with pain, then bashful and apprehensive, now she looked positively tormented. Agonizing. Hopeless. Even if she was in much better shape – her wounds had healed almost completely – and she shouldn't have been bedridden anymore, the little priestess was hiding curled up under the covers and the small room was sunken in an ominous semi-obscurity.

"Is that what the incubus told you?"

The question had the strange effect of pulling the blonde out of her state, curiosity making her prop higher on the pillows and look a bit livelier than before. It wasn't entirely surprising though, since gifted people had a natural inclination towards learning and discovery, ever reaching to the mysteries of this world.

" _Incubus_? Is that its name? How… how do you know its name?"

"It's not a name, it's a type of demon." Rin shifted closer. "So, what does it tell you, Shiemi?" he pressed, unwilling to get into more, possibly uncomfortable details about the subject of demon types and their nefarious habits.

She wanted to tell him, she really did. She wanted to just be able to open her mouth and say it all, like one exhales after holding their breath for much too long. Like a breath of fresh air she needed it, but it was wrong to badmouth one's family -Grandma had always said - and she'd already done it once before, she couldn't shame her mother twice by telling the exorcist what she feared was about to happen next.

"It just… said that you wouldn't come back, because there's nothing you can do. And that I have no choice but to accept being his toy…"

 _Wrong you are, I can do some really bad things,_ Rin thought. He was just unsure how to go about it, still, rather lacking confidence in the considerable jumble of verses hidden under his left sleeve. What if he made a complete mess of them?! And (of course) he hadn't rehearsed even once, out of sheer bad habit, because he just loathed rehearsing. _Oh God, I_ am _a half-assed exorcist!_

"So… my turn now?" Shiemi asked shyly, breaking the web of gloomy thoughts. Right, she liked asking questions, and he guessed that it was to distract herself from what was really going on, it was a way of seeking momentary relief. It was okay really, Rin enjoyed talking to her and no one usually asked him any questions unless with the precise purpose of pestering.

"Uh, sure?"

The blonde's hand ghosted towards his own, tiny fingertips trailing just over the back of his glove, from the wrist to the knuckles, where the black leather ended, but then Shiemi stopped abruptly, withdrawing her hand, as if she'd caught herself doing something she wasn't supposed to.

"I-I was wondering… you seem really young, I mean for a boy… How come your family allowed you get married already?"

The demon boy blinked, caught off-guard. Somehow, he really hadn't seen that coming at all. Not from her. And… what did it mean? That almost-touch and now this question, could it be that she was, even the slightest bit, interested in him too? His gaze dropped to the golden circle - which went ignored most of the times as its owner preferred to think it just wasn't there – but now felt suddenly heavy and uncomfortable.

"My family didn't _allow_ me to get married," Rin said in a low voice, not meeting the blonde priestess' eyes. "They arranged it. It's just a business matter, really."

Shiemi was observing him, demurely but keenly.

"What is your wife like?"

"She's, um…" _A total pain in the ass! "_ She's much older than me and we don't… uh… get along at all. She thinks everything I do is shit and she criticizes and trolls me at every corner," he grumbled, then immediately buried his face in his hands. Awful. AWFUL. He had no right to say that. No decent man ever said that about his wife. What would Shiemi think now?! What a disaster!

"I-I'm so sorry! Please, forgive me!" the blonde cried. "I had no right to ask you that! I-I didn't mean to pry!"

Rin mustered a cramped smile. "No, no, it's alright," he stated shrugging. "A lot of people ask that, it's a common topic, I guess? It's just, this was the first time I actually told someone the truth… But it was very rude of me, of course, and I apologize."

The blonde sighed softly and the corners of her doll-like mouth lifted inconspicuously. "No… you just wanted to make me feel better, didn't you? After I said those things about my mother…"

That shadow of smile lingered but a moment before melting away in the sea of sadness, but while it lasted it was nothing but genuine and Rin was completely taken aback by it, his breath hitching. Goodness, was this girl even real?! She was so sweet and of such _pure_ essence, she only saw the best in people, even where there was so little or none to be seen… The insurmountable gap between them suddenly him the demon boy like a whiplash, vividly painful. Shiemi was a being of light, she could never, ever be around someone like _him_. No darkness should ever, by its proximity, dare dim her inborn shine.

"No, not really… Shiemi, listen, now I will-"

"I don't know what you will, but that mumbo-jumbo under your sleeve is not going to help you at all. In fact, I wouldn't even try it, you know, if I were _you_ …"

Shiemi's eyes widened in horror and she covered her mouth with both hands.

"It's okay, ignore it," Rin said, rolling up his sleeve. Like hell he was going to be deterred by the incubus' shit, if anything it was proof that the bastard finally felt threatened. "Just don't let it speak anymore and focus on my words. Give me your hand and I'll recite for you."

 _Okay, here goes nothing,_ the brunet thought, forgetting to ask for a lamp and oblivious to the fact that his ability to read in the dark must have looked very odd.

"In the name of the Lord, I re-…rebuke the incubus and succubus spirits, their off… spring, seed, their spiritual family and… _I-don't-know-what-it-says-here…_ spirits. In the Lord's name, I renounce their works. In the authority of the Lord, I renounce and… uh… destroy everything that they have con-…ceived within me and birthed through me, my husb- _ah that's not applicable,_ my family, my household, and my ancestors."

He looked up at Shiemi, trying to ascertain whether anything was actually happening and finding no sign of it. Instead, a headache was beginning to creep in, slowly but surely, accompanied by some serious doubts regarding the eventual result.

"Father, in your name, for me, and on behalf of my family, my household and my ancestors, I confess and repent of this sin that manifested through ungodly soul ties. I ask your forgiveness for the engagement in this sin and the i… and the… _something_ that resulted. The-… inequality that resulted. No, the inequity… _iniquity_ that resulted."

Rin paused and pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head in annoyance. Damn, he was making a mess of it!

"Lord, in your name, I bind these spirits with chains from Heaven and lock them-… owww!"

A pang of searing pain shot through the demon boy's skull, making him yelp. Still, he drew a deep breath and went on.

"… with locks that can only be opened by you, Lord. I bind them in me, my family, my household and my ancestors; in our presence, in our dwelling place, and in our land…"

With every word, the pain was growing, gripping all sides of his skull like a claw and something warm began trickling from his nose. He wiped it away quickly with the back of his hand, not needing to look at it to know what it was.

"In the name of the Lord and with the Sword of the Spirit, I…ah!... cut and sever from me, my family, my household, and my ancestors all un-… unclean and unholy bonds, soul ties, a-attachments, and… h-ah!... s-silver cords used by all… incubus and succubus spirits, their offspring and seed… and the work done through them…. I s-sever all soul ties. Lord, sever these ties and res-… tore the broken or… torn portions of our… of our… souls…"

* * *

Shiemi watched in absolute horror as the suffering exorcist collapsed next to her on the mattress, unconscious. It happened so fast too, as soon as the last words were spoken he was out like a light. Had the demon done this to him? If so, it was odd, because when it had attacked _that man_ , it had gone all out like a rabid beast, gruesome teeth and claws tearing flesh and breaking bones. Yet maybe now the impure spirit had been weakened by the prayer, for she no longer felt its presence and for once that dreadful voice inside her head was silent.

"Oh my God!" the blonde whispered, voice nearly gone from fear. "Rin!"

Trembling fingers reached out and checked the demon boy's pulse as the priestess leaned over him. But thank goodness, he was still breathing, just passed out. Blood had stopped gushing from his nose and Shiemi used a cotton napkin to clean his pale face, the touch causing him to frown and stir as if in a fitful sleep.

"Rin, please wake up!" she pleaded, somewhat relieved now. "Please, don't scare me anymore. And it's gone, the incubus is gone!"

His eyes blinked open eventually, prompted by tiny fingers brushing a few raven wisps of hair away from his forehead, but when they did the mesmerizing blue of the irises was much darkened, appearing almost hollow. Rin sniffed, struggling a bit to sit up.

"Sh-Shiemi… it's _not_ gone at all," he murmured, eyes shifting for a moment somewhere beyond the blonde's shoulder. "And now I'm really pissed! Obviously… the easy way didn't work, so now we will – most unfortunately – have to resort to other means."

"W-What do you mean?"

 _Tell him to leave! He's a shit exorcist, made a mess of a simple chant like that! How pathetic!_

"Oh God… it's not gone," she whispered, eyes widening in horror.

"I'm not a good exorcist, but I'm something worse and I will do much worse than a bunch of fatal verses!"

 _Fight for prey._

He shifted closer, the shadow of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Shiemi… give in to me," he said softly.

Shiemi blinked, her body suddenly relaxing with a strange sort of numbness. Somewhere in the back of her mind the danger registered, along with a vague feeling that things were not what they seemed, but she decided not to resist. She didn't _want_ to resist. Rin raised his hand and slowly cupped her plump cheek, thumb rubbing over the smooth cheekbone and the blonde watched in complete fascination as the color of his eyes lightened to an almost turquoise shade surreally hugging a flaming red core.

And then the demon boy leaned in, pressing his mouth over hers. It wasn't quite a kiss, just parted lips moving slightly against each other and hot breaths mingling, shy and tentative, but with just a tinge of shamelessness.

"Yes."

Shiemi felt her heart pounding in her chest, almost in her throat, as she mustered the courage to place a soft peck on the boy's lips. This was so _different_ … After biting her bottom lip briefly, she kissed him again, this time a bit more determinedly and it was enough for Rin to wrap an arm around the petite blonde's waist and lift her to straddle his lap. He leaned in some more, mouth ghosting over the tiny shell of her ear before he tried his teeth a bit on the soft lobe.

"Shiemi… trust me," he whispered. "Whatever happens, whatever you see or hear, don't turn around."

Her eyelids fell shut just as she pressed even closer, arms wrapping around the demon boy's neck and fingers treading slowly through the short hairs at the nape of his neck. Rin's lips left a trail of kisses down her jaw line, over her small round chin and down the side of her neck, just as she heard the unmistakable swish of a sword pulled from its sheath and fingers dug into her back, nails feeling suddenly sharp through the thin fabric of her dress, on the edge of breaking the skin.

The blonde buried her face in the crook of Rin's neck – he was warm and the mere touch of him as her body was pressed flat against his chest was comforting and made her feel safe. Even when the air was filled with horrid growls and there was a powerful burst of blinding blue light around them, and she heard the sickening sound of the blade cutting through that unnatural, repulsive flesh she'd endured on her own so many times.

"Shiemi," the demon boy murmured eventually, lips pressed into her hair, "It's over. Now it's gone, you're free."

She looked up at his face, noticing in the pale gleam of moon rays that his eyes had returned to their usual color and something else too, something missing until now – he was smiling. A relieved, carefree and almost childish smile, showing pearly white, pointy teeth.

Small hands reached up to cup both sides of his face as Shiemi leaned in to kiss him again, open-mouthed, smiling against his lips in turn as she did. They tumbled backwards on the bed, still lip-locked, tasting and enjoying each other and only when Rin felt the blonde's bare legs wrapping around his waist did it occur to him that the door was unlocked and if Konekomaru decided to see what was the holdup now that the incubus had been dealt with, it would have been a disaster of spectacular proportions. That and what they were doing now wasn't supposed to happen past the achievement of intended purpose. Actually, it wasn't supposed to happen _period_.

"Mmmmhh… Rin, d-don't… don't stop," Shiemi whispered between labored breaths when he pulled away, gently disentangling from her embrace. "W-What-… what's wrong?"

His smile was gone and those surreal blue eyes were now filled with an odd mixture of dread and pain.

"Shiemi… I can't. We can't. Not if I don't want all Hell to break loose." Rin took the little priestess' hand in his own and pressed his lips to her knuckles. "Please, forgive me! Forgive and forget."

* * *

Finally away from prying ears and curious glances of servants, the demon prince dropped down on his knees and buried his face in his hands. He wanted nothing more than to collapse on the soft carpet and lie there like a dead thing.

' _How can one loose what one has never had?_ ' the wise men would ask, but he was no wise man, he only knew that it was still possible, against all odds.

"Where have you been, Rin?"

There was something in the deep, dark purple of Shura's eyes which spoke of an approaching storm and he nearly panicked, for the briefest moment entertaining the absurd thought that _she knew_.

 ** _To be continued_**


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

A/N – Hello everyone! Again, thank you for all of your amazing feedback, I'm so glad when people enjoy the weird stuff I write ;) That aside, I know that questions have been piling up because I kept dropping hints without real explanations, but on top of the ever growing complications (because as the songs says 'It's gotta get bad before it gets good') we will perhaps clear out some things this time. Or not really ;) Enjoy!

* * *

It was so good to be out and about again. Shiemi was back to taking care of the shop and whenever she got a spare moment she would tend to the garden, as it was nearly summer and more and more flowers were blooming under the rich sunshine, memories of darker times blurring and slipping away slowly from the blonde's mind. Her mother seemed to be in a better mood these days, openly relieved that the whole demon issue had been not only taken care of but also successfully covered up by the True Cross order.

On the very night of the tragedy the mangled corpse of Shiemi's fiancée had been swiftly removed from the house and made to look like the man had been attacked by robbers in a different part of the city – since there were far worse slums than those they currently lived in – and the rest of it had been passed as an illness which had kept the little Flower Priestess away from the shop and her garden for several days.

Shiemi herself had had no knowledge of all these things until she was back behind the counter and customers would come to praise her recovery and give condolences for the untimely death of her fiancée, probably linking her sudden illness with the loss she'd suffered and which must have brought her down completely. It was both good and bad if they'd been made to think this way. Now her mother was somewhat appeased since their reputation was intact and it also meant that it would be some time until it would have been civil for her to push forward another suitor, yet bad because Shiemi couldn't help cringe at those words of comfort and at having to pretend that she was sorrowful for that beast of a man's demise.

The only thing which indeed brought sorrow was the fact that she was missing Rin. The memory of him was like a recurring dream someone keeps struggling to remember after blissful nighttime, only to have it slip away from their grasp each morning, more and more blurred and faded.

Of course, the blonde understood why he hadn't come to visit - not even once after she had been 'healed' – and it was because he genuinely cared about her. Just like all her kind, Shiemi had a keen intuition and ability to read people, and that much she was sure of. Even if he'd confessed of being trapped into an arranged marriage which he obviously wasn't taking too well – as she too would end up, eventually – he still had refrained from dragging her into an illicit affair. He'd done it even with knowing that she was already beyond tainting.

There was more to it though, which intrigued her to no end, tiny details which always seemed to slip away just at the border between actual recollection and wishful dream, some things which clearly appeared odd when thought of in broad daylight. Shiemi was well aware of her ignorance when it came to gifted people belonging to different orders than hers – among which the exorcists were by far the most mysterious and occult in their ways – but she could not ignore her gut feeling that some things were not quite what they seemed to be. There was something off about Rin Okumura's _gifts_ , since there was clearly more than one and hence his plain reluctance and even apprehension in offering explanations. The one thing which had stuck in her mind above all was that one moment when his eyes had changed color and those spellbinding words were uttered.

' _Shiemi… give in to me'_

She'd been instantly numbed with an all-powerful urge to submit to him completely, without a single thought about what this meant, without the slightest reflection upon the consequences. It was as if it had been something insidious, like a seed of sin growing into the soil of her own weakness, because she knew that she had been weak from the very start and had not even bothered hiding it.

And yet he'd never have done anything to genuinely hurt her and it was strikingly odd that way. In the end, Rin had only kissed her and held her in his arms as if she were a precious thing worth treasuring and not a lost, tainted woman, with the same shy want of a child with dirty hands who hesitates when reaching for their favorite food.

By God, Shiemi couldn't help thinking that his wife, whoever she was, must have still been a very lucky woman.

* * *

Rin stared petulantly into his plate, taking indifferent bites from his food but mostly poking at it, unable to fake as much as an acceptable mood, let alone a good one. Now that the penitence work was over, he'd be back to the regular tasks and nuisances, without a reason to leave the palace at his leisure and, above everything else, without a reason to ever see Shiemi Moriyama again.

"Mephisto has reviewed the files of the cases you worked on as an exorcist during the penitence time and he seems pleased with it," Shura stated, sipping at her wine. "Looks like no one kicked the bucket in the process, ha!"

The demon boy ignored the irony, even if a scowl made itself present on his face. For once, something annoyed him more than his wife's constant trolling. Of course, she had suspected that he'd taken a detour on his way back from his duties and had stuffed his face with grilled squid to the point of making himself sick and with good reason, because he'd just been unable to hide just how upset he was, having left the sweet Flower Priestess behind to return to _this_!

"However, he mentioned that alongside the successful endeavors you also did something of unprecedented stupidity," the red-haired princess went on. "What the hell were you thinking?!"

"Huh?"

"Fatal verses," Shura clarified. "You actually recited fatal verses. _You_." She blinked, feigning a thoughtful assessment. "Just what kind of an idiot are you, Rin?! Do you realize that you could have almost exorcised _yourself_?!" she laughed, immensely amused by the idea.

The young prince set his lips into a thin line, not taking it too well, but it had been better to say that he'd exorcised the incubus in this manner, at his own peril, rather than disclosing the actual 'procedure' employed to draw it out. Rin was rather mortified at the mere thought of the truth ever being brought to light and the resulting consequences, because seriously now, he was just one of those people who – fuck their luck – never got away with anything. Always caught and punished.

He snorted bitterly, resting his chin in the heel of his palm.

"Actually it's a pity that I recited the fatal verses for someone else. It goes like this:

' _In the name of the Lord, I break the assignment of all Incubus and Succubus spirits, their offspring and seed, the spiritual family, and associated spirits and the work done through them. I ask you, Father, to shut the doors of entry, lock the doors with your holy keys, and seal these doors with the Blood of Jesus Christ. Father, in your name, for me, and on behalf of my family, my household and my ancestors, I confess and repent of this sin that manifested through ungodly soul ties. I ask your forgiveness for the engagement in this sin and the iniquity that resulted.'_

Since you are human and I am a demon,if I had recited them for you instead, maybe I would have eventually succeeded in exorcising myself _out of this marriage_ ," he said dryly. "Perhaps I should try it sometime."

Funny how the words had imprinted in his mind with surprising accuracy when they were no longer needed, perhaps because they were the only reminder of that night.

Shura laughed loudly, leaning back in her seat. "I don't think it works that way. And besides, you're not having it that badly, Meph does all the hard work after all…"

Rin rolled his eyes. "No, I don't have to do anything. I get all the shit for free."

"So, why are you sulking? You've been sulking ever since that night, what the hell is up with you? Talk to me," she said, good-humoredly.

"I'm not sulking and I have nothing to say to you! When do we ever talk about anything anyway?" _Unless you smell a worthy pestering subject, that is…_

The redhead sighed. "Rin, we're not enemies, you and I. And you can talk to me if there's anything bothering you, you know? I'm your wife."

"YOU'RE NOT MY WIFE!" the demon boy burst out angrily, slamming his fist onto the table and knocking over his glass of water.

But immediately afterwards Rin's anger turned to absolute horror and in the ominous silence which followed he could almost hear the quickened beat of his own heart along with the spilled water dripping from the edge of the table. Shura was usually stressing him out enough on her own, reason for which he normally didn't dare any disrespectful words towards her, but if Mephisto heard of this, there would be serious punishment.

"Uh-oh," Shura said eventually, even now with a hidden hint of amusement. "Looks like we have an issue…"

The brunet shook his head weakly, gaze trained on the small puddle on the floor. "N-no…"

His hand flew up to cover his mouth, short nails digging helplessly in the now sheet-white cheek as a sudden deep-seated fear mingled with his previous chagrin. His horror-stricken mind gave him the impression that anyone could have read him like an open book by now and the last thing needed was to raise suspicions, question marks which would have been inevitably traced back to his penitence work… and to the little blonde priestess. Because while Lady Shura Kirigakure had been King Mephisto's mistress from the very beginning of their marriage – when Rin was only twelve - and they'd never lived together as husband and wife, it was still a secret he was supposed to take to his grave and besides, the situation had never openly bothered him before.

"Oh, I think we do," the princess pointed. "My bad, I should have noticed. You've grown up now and things have changed, I suppose you want your rights. Wrong you are though if you think this passive-aggressive approach will get you anywhere…" she chuckled, sipping some more wine.

"You got it all wrong!" Rin shot back, somewhere along the way having realised that if he crapped out and looked guilty he would be doomed. Everything would be doomed. "And we are so _not_ having this discussion!"

"No?"

"No! Do you really want to know what my problem is?! These past days I got to spend more time in the city and I saw how people really live! You know, simple people, who are not burdened by absurd responsibilities!"

Shura raised an eyebrow, still altogether unfazed and unconvinced. "Oh?"

"Yeah! For example," Rin decided to improvise, "One night when I was crossing the main bridge I saw a boy and a girl sitting on edge, under the tree blossoms, just… they weren't talking, only holding hands and smiling at each other, and they were happy. And in that moment I realized that I'll never ever have that, because I'm stuck into this blasted arranged marriage, with _you_!"

By now the demon boy was literally on the edge of tears, voice shaking, and the smile disappeared from Shura's face.

"And for your information, I never meant to say this out loud and – Heaven forbid – _offend_ you! You forced me!"

With those final words, Rin stood up abruptly, nearly throwing back his chair, and rushed from the dining room, slamming the door in his wake. Once out in the hallway, he broke into a run, making a beeline for his private chambers and ignoring the quizzical stares of the servants. He barged in hastily, startling his cat familiar in the process and shoved the double doors shut, twisting the key in the lock.

Yeah, Mephisto was going to hear about this – Rin thought, aware that he'd really done it this time. He and Shura had had arguments before, they were arguing most of the time, but never before had he dared express openly that he didn't want to be married to her. It was his duty as a prince to be married to her and even if some truths were obvious, they were never meant to be said out loud.

Still shaking and pressing his forehead against the hard wood, Rin realized that he'd just done the unthinkable, insulting Lady Kirigakure, her clan and their alliance with the royal family – and he was going to get some serious hell for it.

 ** _To be continued_**


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6**

A/N – Hello my dear readers! I am excited to be back with a new chap of this little tale (I really wanted to update Sunday evening but hell… my muse ran away), and things will advance further - for better or worse, since the plot I've planned is rather twisted ;))) Anyway, hope you enjoy it and again, so, so grateful for your support, you guys are amazing!

* * *

Shiemi was out in the garden working when she saw the two men outside the gate, whom her mother was currently speaking to. As they were at the bottom of the hill she couldn't really make out what they were saying, but Mrs. Moriyama looked worked up and her voice sounded high-pitched and irritated. The blonde took a better look at the men – they were actually two boys, and monks judging by their outfits too – and she wondered if they could have been creditors of some sort. Her mother was in the habit of sometimes acquiring fine things they couldn't really afford and had gotten into debts before. But still, she wouldn't have gone that far as to take a poor man's loan from a Temple, would she?

The girl stood, dusting the dirt off her hands onto her work clothes, just as the older woman left the two boys waiting and started going back up, anger written all over her features and her eyes trained upon her. But even so, Shiemi did not suspect that she herself was the reason of her mother's fury until the woman stood right in front of her and a heavy palm fell upon her cheek brutally and unexpectedly.

"What did you tell the exorcist?! Huh?! That I don't treat you well?! Or did you brag about your stupid, so-called 'gift'?! What did you tell him, you wretched girl?!"

Shiemi found herself gripped by the hair and pulled away stumbling, down the path, before she could even realize what was going on, or could utter a single word.

"But, mother, why-"

"They came for you," Mrs. Moriyama growled pointing at the two young monks. "The High Priest Tatsuma Suguro from the Tree of Life Temple has sent these two apprentices to fetch you! He has decided that your _precious gift_ would go to waste if you were to remain here, and has claimed you as his servant!"

The blonde flinched – knowing that this was indeed sometimes the practice of Temples, taking gifted children and youths from their families to serve a higher purpose. Shiemi feared priests of all kinds in principle and thought it dreadful for a child to be taken away from their family and raised among strangers who might have been kind to them or not. She had been lucky until now that her Grandmother had wisely kept her gift a secret and she doubted that any of the simple people who bought medicine from her mother's shop knew anything about it, or enough to elicit such action from the High Priest. He'd made the decision without as much as examining her first!

"Here she is," Mrs. Moriyama spoke harshly, shoving her daughter towards the two monks. "She'll be going as she is right now, without a single thing from my house! And I expect to receive my compensation!"

Shiemi was both horrified of the unexpected situation and ashamed of her dirty work clothes, but the two boys bowed respectfully in front of her and addressed her as 'Priestess'. She looked at them carefully – one was petite and fragile-looking, the shaved head and a pair of spectacles giving too serious an air to his childish face, while the other was tall and solid, with wild, two-colored hair and countless piercings.

"Of course, madam. The High Priest will send the respective amount no later than two days from now, do not worry," the smaller boy replied, taking another deep bow which only added to Shiemi's embarrassment.

And then there was this issue of money – the poorer families were compensated by the Temples for the taken children, but Shiemi hadn't thought that her mother would actually go as far as to bring _that_ up! But she had been wrong, it was the woman's every intention to sell her off as merchandise, the only reason of her displeasure being that the Temple was going to pay much less than a husband would probably have.

"My name is Konekomaru Miwa," the smaller boy introduced himself politely, after the small gate had been promptly shut in their nose and Mrs. Moriyama had marched back towards the house without a single glance back. "And this is Ryuji Suguro," he said motioning to his companion. "Please, Priestess, do not be wary of this, for it is by all means intended for the best."

Shiemi was momentarily stunned, not knowing what to say or what to do with herself, unable to stop staring back at the garden she'd just left and the half-finished work. Her Grandma's garden! Her eyes filled with tears at the thought.

"Master Tatsuma Suguro says that you should not be worried about your honored Grandmother's garden," Konekomaru said, guessing her thoughts, "For her spirit will watch upon it always. More than that, you will be able to come visit it anytime you want."

"R-Really?" The blonde turned away from the house, wiping her tears clumsily with the back of her hand and possibly smearing some dirt on her cheeks in the process.

The monk nodded, showing the way down the unpaved path away from the gate. "Quite so. Young Priests and Priestesses who live at the Temples enjoy far freer lives than they would have had they stayed with their families. Free of certain responsibilities as well."

Shiemi would not think of any of that now, everything had happened much too quickly, without any warning. She observed the boys again – how very different they were – and wondered what sort of people was she to encounter at the Temple. Would she make any friends there? She was normally quite shy and the taller boy, who hadn't said more than a cold, formal greeting so far, intimidated her.

"So, y-you two are working at the Temple?" she dared, stuttering rather badly and keeping her eyes on the smaller monk, who seemed more approachable.

"Ah… no," Konekomaru replied with a light smile, adjusting his spectacles. "Ryuji here is Tatsuma Suguro's son, but he was born with a different gift and currently serves at the Temple of Fire. Still comes around to do errands for his father every now and then though. I work somewhere else as well, but I… um… was send to help out."

At least this made sense – she couldn't really imagine Ryuji Suguro, with his warrior-like stance, tending to flowers and trees. There was some oddity about the way the other one spoke about his business, leaving most of the details out, but it was perhaps because they didn't mean to startle her with too much information in such a tender moment. There would be plenty of time for her to learn the way things worked at the Temple later on.

"How did the High Priest find out about me?" she asked. This was something worth clearing up, at least.

The bespectacled boy smiled. "Oh, he's always known about you, as well as your honored Grandmother, and she had asked him to let you stay with her, at least until you were fully grown up. But now that she is gone…"

Still, the High Priest had never seen her and for all Shiemi knew, her gift might not have been worthy enough to earn her a place at the Temple. So it was still odd that she'd been chosen and furthermore, her mother had mentioned the exorcist. Could he have had anything to do with it?! Exorcists were of course a different order, but she did not know what ties could have existed between the orders. And the smaller boy's obvious reluctance to give details about his own work…

"Um… do you happen to know Rin Okumura?" the blonde asked, watching the tinier monk intently and for sure, he was instantly startled and surprised by the question. Maybe she shouldn't have asked though, maybe it was something… not to be done? Did _cured_ people ever ask about the exorcists who had saved them afterwards or it was a matter of secrecy to be kept under silence? She really hoped that she wasn't making an imprudence or goof right now.

"Yeah," Ryuji Suguro spoke unexpectedly, staring straight ahead with an air of indifference, as if none of this was worth bothering with. "He's a short-fused idiot."

"B-Bon!" Konekomaru murmured pleadingly, looking mortified.

"I'm sorry…" the girl mumbled, lowering her gaze to the ground immediately. "I-I shouldn't have asked… After all… I know that-…" The smaller monk looked at her quizzically. "I mean I know things are complicated…"

The Fire Priest snorted. "Complicated? He just comes from a privileged family. But he is just like I said."

Konekomaru promptly shoved his bony elbow into the taller boy's side. "Say no more, Bon!" he warned, shaking his head quickly.

"Are you an exorcist as well?"

"Apologies, Priestess, it's just… we live a life of complete discretion. We won't be able to answer any more of your questions."

* * *

Rin remembered eventually falling asleep in his own bed after helplessly tossing and turning for a long time, eaten by worry, but had no idea how the hell he'd ended up into that dark, chilly dungeon. He was seated awkwardly onto some contorted irons, his clothes were gone and his wrists were shackled above his head. The binds were particularly strong too, since for all his demonic powers the young prince had been unable to free himself. His shoulders and arms ached horribly from the strain and he shivered from the cold.

"MEPHISTO!" the demon boy shouted, a creepy echo reverberating from the surrounding stone walls. "YOU FUCKING BASTARD!"

Still, right now he was more afraid than he was angry. This was seriously bad, Rin had done worse (in his books), such as burning the King's precious, life-sized mahogany statue, yet nothing of this kind had ever happened to him as a consequence. And worse that any torture (which he thought he could take, ultimately) was the thought that a connection would be made between his improperly hostile outburst towards his wife and Shiemi. What would Mephisto do if he knew the truth?! He didn't even want to think about it!

"Hello, little brother. I see you woke up in the same bad mood you went to bed with."

Rin lifted his head to see the demon King seated in his favorite floating armchair, sipping tea with his usual carefree attitude under which, more often than not, all sorts of misfortunes waited to blow up in the face of the unsuspecting. On top of administering punishment, it looked like Mephisto also wanted _explanations_ this time, which was actually the worst that could happen.

 _Oh… fuck!_

The demon boy looked away, worrying his bottom lip as his tail curled up promptly around his waist in an attempt to preserve at least some dignity. It was unlikely that some random bullshit was going to work with his older brother as it had with Shura, most likely Mephisto would see right through his lies, reason for which he had never tried to lie to him before. And normally he would have just confessed and taken it.

"What the hell is this place?!"

 _"_ This is _Das Stärkste Gefängnis_ (A/N – manga reference) _,_ it's a demon prison," the King replied neutrally. "See, if lowly demons are simply exorcised from this world, my more important subjects I put in here to chill out whenever they become unruly. Normally there's a healthy whipping on the menu as well, but your sin is not that serious. I'm mentioning it just in case you intend to persist, of course."

"Noted," Rin grumbled, shifting slightly in a failed attempt to ease the growing discomfort. Maybe it would have been a good idea to just apologize and pass it as one of his usual impressive but unimportant tantrums? No, something told the young prince it wouldn't have worked this time and it would have looked suspicious, too.

Mephisto sighed loudly, leaning back in his armchair, chin propped in the heel of his palm.

"So what is it this time, little brother? Care to explain your current discontent with the situation? Because I don't suppose that _I_ need to explain _to you_ what your duties as a prince are, yet again… do I?"

"No, you don't need to explain anything! You don't need to explain how everyone else is free to choose their spouse but I wasn't, and you certainly don't need to explain how I got a horrible wife while I don't see you shoving anyone down Amaimon's throat!" the demon boy shouted, teeth gritted in pain.

The King rubbed his forehead with a momentarily pained expression, sighing again.

"Simple people get to choose their spouses because it doesn't matter, and even so more often than not poor choices are made, if it's any comfort to you. Father chose my five wives and he will choose one or more _pure-blooded_ wives for Amaimon as well when it becomes convenient. As per the law, only someone with partly human blood could have married Lady Kirigakure, with your brother there's that _certain shit_ I had rather not stirred and besides, you're older. This is enough explanation on my behalf, which however does nothing to explain why you had this sudden reaction towards your wife!"

Mephisto was clearly very upset about it and Rin cringed, but he decided to keep the tough act regardless.

"I think I explained myself clearly enough at the time! It's very hard to see others happy and enjoying their lives while I have to _pretend_ and stay faithful to your mistress, who on top of everything is always mean to me!"

"Oh, _God_!" the older demon exclaimed. "Have I ever said that you should be faithful to her?! Is that what you're so worked up about? That ring isn't glued to your finger, you know? I have five and they come out very easily! Or do you think my wives are not horrible?"

"Yeah, but you deserve it!"

Mephisto's armchair floated closer and he leaned forward, two sharp-nailed fingers forcing Rin's chin upwards. "And _you_ don't, little brother?" the King hissed, yet half-amused now. "Were you not all teeth and claws with Shura from the very beginning? Are you nice to anyone? Do you think you deserve anything else? Do you think that a sweet, loyal and loving girl would deserve your bad temper, your poor manners and your horrid tantrums? Hmm?"

Rin grimaced, scowling, but said nothing in reply, only trying shake off his brother's grasp from his face.

"Let me tell you how it's going to be, little brother," the King said in a soft voice. "I will hear no more talk of you being disrespectful to your wife, _or else_. When you're a bit older and especially _if_ you prove yourself worthy, perhaps I will allow you to take a second wife, someone of your own choosing, but until then we will have no more words about it! Is that clear?! You'd do well to reflect upon your own shortcomings while you chill in here..."

 ** _To be continued_**


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 7**

A/N – Hello everyone! I only just realized how long it's been since I last updated this story, again having some trouble with what I actually want to do. Because while the main plot has been developed a long time ago (and to be sure, there's no escaping it) there are some details and scenes to be figured out on the way. That being said, I can only hope that the last chap wasn't too scary for you guys and that you enjoy the new one ;) Again, thank you all so much for the support!

* * *

Despite her shy and reclusive nature, Shiemi had adapted very quickly to the new life at the Temple. The High Priest Tatsuma Suguro, as well as the other priests and priestesses had welcomed her with a sort of quiet benevolence she'd found reassuring and furthermore, she'd noticed that people saw to their assigned tasks and minded their business, and no one talked much. There was none of the prying and judgment she'd feared and the blonde felt strangely relieved of having moved away from her mother and escaped her future nefarious plans. Of course, there was still the shame that Mrs. Moriyama had actually, quite shamelessly asked for _payment_ , all the while manifesting no real grief of being parted with her daughter.

She had chosen to bury all those unclear, unsettling feelings she'd been having as of late in work – she helped with sewing, cooking and laundry even if the Temple had plenty of servants and the priests and priestesses were normally spared of such tasks, preferring to keep herself busy at all waking hours. Even if very soon she would receive the official initiation and the title of priestess, the blonde felt humbled and in ever-growing gratitude to Tatsuma Suguro.

To this day she found it odd that the High Priest had made no fuss about her acceptance and that there had been no prior test of her abilities. Yet Shiemi had a gut feeling that he _knew_ – he knew the extent of her gift, he knew about the depth of the special bond she'd shared with her grandmother (even if she'd thought a man would be eluded by that unique kind of kinship which could only be born between two women), he even knew of all the facts of her lately wretched life. No question, he could have learned of those from the exorcist - as her mother had from the beginning suspected - but there was a much deeper sense of awareness the High Priest seemed to possess, some clairvoyance beyond the mere facts. It undoubtedly sprung from his gift, just like it did, to a much lesser extent, from hers.

* * *

Now at sunset a pleasant breeze from the mountains chased away the scorching heat of daytime in the city, inflating the freshly washed linens Shiemi was stretching on the long cord placed on the sunny side of the Temple roof, among the impressive clutter of plant pots. She enjoyed this time of day in the solitude of such chores and certainly did not expect to see the High Priest making his way up here, clad in simple white robes and strolling casually among these mundane things of everyday, with which he did not seem to belong.

Upon laying eyes on the aging man, the blonde instinctively realized that he'd come to speak to her, even if he was taking his time wandering through the roof garden without ceremony or apparent purpose, randomly leaning in to smell the flowers of a rosebush or caress the shiny, slender leaves of an oleander with the tips of his fingers.

"Shiemi," he began softly, "I thought a young girl on the eve of her priestess initiation ceremony would be too excited to think about chores." Suguro pawed at one of the damp sheets smiling.

The petite girl took a small bow, stepping back. "I just do this because it's something I'm good at and I like to help…," she said with a light blush, "But of course I'm very excited and grateful for the gift you're making me."

The High Priest smiled some more and sighed. "This thing with gifts is tricky, you know. But I do hope to make you the gift of love, just like your grandmother made it to me when I was just a silly boy who thought he knew everything."

Shiemi looked up at him puzzled.

"I remember the day she walked out of here to her new home, your mother in her arms," Tatsuma Suguro said, clasping his hands behind his back and glancing at something in the distance, perhaps a sweet memory which made his face lighten up with affection. "Your mother was just a newborn baby, but we already knew that she had not inherited the gift. I was only a boy back then, but already had a mind of taking a wife one day and having my own children. When this happened, I was suddenly very afraid," he confessed, head bowed as if in embarrassment of his past childish follies. "I was afraid that it could have been possible for my children, blood of my blood, not to inherit my gift. What would I have done then? Would I have been able to accept them, embrace them with the love they needed, despite my terrible disappointment? Because you should know, I used to be very ambitious back then and had high expectations of myself and others. " He laughed. "But your grandmother taught me the powerful lesson of _unconditional love_. Surely proved useful later, when my son was born with a very different gift from ours."

Shiemi remembered the war-god figure of Tatsuma's son, Ryuji, currently serving as a Fire Priest. She couldn't help a smile of her own at the thought of Ryuji as a small but unruly and energetic child, running around the Temple and wreaking havoc, probably exasperated by the dull quiet of the place and in turn exasperating his peaceful father.

"I understand."

"Well then," the priest said. "I guess I should tell you why I'm here. I have a favor to ask."

"Yes?"

"There's someone I'd like you to meet…" Tatsuma made a calling gesture to someone unseen and suddenly Shiemi saw the dark head of a little girl poking shyly from behind the priest's sturdy frame. Her large brown eyes beheld the blonde with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension.

"Hello there!" she greeted, leaning forward a bit after wiping her damp hands on her apron. "I am Shiemi. What's your name?"

The little girl said nothing and continued to stare, her small, bony fingers fisted into the side of Suguro's sleeve. The priest told her that the girl's name was Chandragada and she was a ten year old, recently orphaned apprentice, but for some reason Shiemi thought she looked much younger, petite, skinny and frail-looking as she was. The High Priest thought she could have used the company of someone closer to her age to help her settle in at the Temple and move on from her grieving.

"I will call you Chan, if that's okay?" the older girl said, reaching out tentatively.

Much to her relief, the brunette finally stepped out from the priest's shade and accepted the touch, murmuring a barely audible greeting. At Tatsuma's instructions, Shiemi offered to show the newcomer to her room, which was to be next to hers. The little girl kept observing her shyly but having gained a bit of trust, it seemed. Shiemi felt a tad awkward herself - because having no siblings and having grown up mostly without the company of other children she wasn't very used to them - and was thoroughly surprised when Chan innocently asked if she could call her 'big sister'.

* * *

Chan's room was small and unpretentious, just like the rest of the personal habitations, but Shiemi saw that the servants had already laid fresh sheets on the bed and the pale yellow, translucent curtains gave a warm, welcoming glow to the light. The little girl walked up and sat on the bed, quietly observing her surroundings and clutching the cloth satchel she'd been carrying in her arms protectively.

"It's all I have left from my mother," she said in a soft, almost apologetic tone and Shiemi cringed, involuntarily recalling the manner in which her own parent had literally thrown her out, with only the clothes on her back. All of the much treasured little nothings she'd fondly kept in memory of Grandmother she'd been forced to leave behind, and there was very little solace in knowing that she now lived in the same place as the old priestess had long ago, before the birth of her child. It was hard for her to picture Grandma in those days - a much, much younger woman and probably very different from the mother and grandmother she was to become and the thought of which felt somehow distant and foreign.

"It's great that you have something from her," the blonde said, with a light smile. "Although I'm sure that master Tatsuma must have told you that your mother's spirit will always watch over you."

"Yes, but she won't… she can't read for me now," Chan said, digging inside her satchel and producing a tattered book with a barely legible title on the badly worn front cover: _Stories_.

Shiemi wondered if the girl's mother had ever taught her how to read and if not, whether she should offer herself. She'd never actually tried to teach anyone anything and rather doubted her skills in the matter. She sat down on the low bed next to the girl and folded her hands in her lap demurely. "Would you like me to read for you?"

The little girl looked tired - having traveled a long way - and getting her into bed earlier seemed like a good idea. Chan thought for a bit, then held the book to Shiemi with both of her tiny hands. "My favorite is the last one," she said, "The story of Princess Harumi. Do you know it?"

"No," the blonde admitted, taking the fragile-looking volume and flipping the pages carefully. She noticed that the back cover of the book was missing and apparently some of the last pages too. And it was a pity, because Chan's favorite story was right at the end and so the girl could never know how the story ended.

"Are you scared, big sister?" Chan asked out of the blue, stretching on the mattress and tucking her legs under the covers.

"Scared? Oh, there's nothing to be scared of!" Shiemi hurried to reassure her, helping her to settle into bed. "Everyone here is so kind and I'm sure you'll feel at home in no time!"

"Mother said that my gift is unlucky," the little girl replied, unconvinced. "She said that since I was born with it, something bad would happen to me. Like it must have happened to princess Harumi… because she also had the gift."

Shiemi blinked and chewed on her bottom lip uncertain, because Chan seemed pretty serious about it and figured she couldn't simply tell the poor girl that her favorite story was in the end just a story and it had nothing to do with her. Chan seemed so convinced about what her mother had said, too! She did gather that the woman must have been superstitious or something and Grandma had told her upon occasion how dangerous popular superstitions could be, so she resolved to speak to the High Priest about it, in the hope that his gentle wisdom would get such dark thoughts out of the child's head.

"So…" she cleared her throat, "The story of Princess Harumi…"

Still a bit unsettled by the discovery, Shiemi began to read, feeling slightly curious about the tale of the princess who bore the name of spring beauty and who lived a happy, carefree life in a beautiful castle surrounded by a splendid garden she would make bloom with her magic touch. There seemed to be nothing disturbing or ominous about the story, at least until she reached the last few lines, after which the missing pages cut the story short:

" _But little did the princess know that from the deepest darkness, from the very edge of night, a demon prince was watching her. And the demon prince said 'I will take your soul' "._

* * *

"Master? Where have you been?!" Konekomaru cried, only to be instantly ashamed of his childish outburst.

But he had been wandering around the palace and the town for the last five days, unable to find to prince or get any answers as to his whereabouts. Now he'd finally discovered Rin cooped up in his chambers – although he knew for sure that he hadn't been here before – resting on a sofa with his cat curled at his feet as if nothing had happened (when the little monk knew for sure that it had!). If any indication to it was needed, the demon boy didn't look like he was lounging casually, but rather that he'd collapsed there in a heap, which he had probably done.

"What is it?" Rin asked in a low, reluctant voice, wordlessly making it clear that no explanation would be given for his absence.

Konekomaru bit his lip, hesitant, wondering if he'd crossed some line, because the prince's ill-humor had never been directed at him before. "Well, I… I just wanted to let you know that it's been arranged, just as you instructed. With Miss Moriyama, I mean. And-…"

"Yeah?"

"You were right, master. About… I mean, I do believe that she will be better off living at the Temple."

The demon boy nodded slowly, then beckoned him closer with two fingers. "Tell me, Koneko, no one knows about it, right? That it was I who asked the High Priest to take her in. No one around here, I mean. Right?" he whispered, motioning with his head towards the doors.

The little monk shook his head, a bit puzzled. "Of course not, but why-"

"Because we wouldn't want anyone going through the roof upon having drawn the wrong conclusion," Rin grumbled, letting his head drop back on the cushions. He really hoped that the innocent little monk would still be able to put two and two together without the need of further explaining.

Indeed, Konekomaru understood. He understood more that he would have liked to, more that it was prudent really under the circumstances. Still, he did what he knew for sure that he shouldn't.

"She asked about you, master."

 ** _To be continued_**

A/N – okay a little mention I consider necessary at this point: I know you must be wondering why I have decided to insert an OC in the story (and trust me, not a fan of OCs myself), but Chan has a clear purpose in the plot, so please keep it in mind and do not panic ;))


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 8**

A/N – Hello my dear readers! Looks like I last updated this fic exactly a month ago or so… well, the muses did it to me again. But worry not, I'm not planning to put it on hiatus or anything and regarding today's update I have some good news for you guys – that's right, our OTP is meeting again (now that wasn't a spoiler, was it? XD) Enjoy!

* * *

Konekomaru may have been just a young boy and a monk on top of everything, but his master and mentor back at his home Temple tended to consider that innocence often equaled ignorance more than virtue and ignorance of any kind would have been dangerous in a tricky job such as that of a palace servant. Thus, the apprentice had been carefully trained to navigate the treacherous waters of strict rituals, protocol and etiquette, the nobles' moods, sensitivities and interests and to read the vibe of things before they happened.

And for the same reason now he knew for certain that his master was lost.

The large Temple yard had been lavishly decorated for the celebrations, the white-washed stones of its floor adorned with colorful intricate designs, light silk drapes tied to the poles dancing in the soft breeze and a shower of soft rose petals was raining down on the priests and priestesses gathered in a circle for the initiation ceremony, donning their most festive garments. The warm air was filled with the sweet scent of the countless blooming flowers and of the light purple wisterias forming a charmed curtain above, filtering the sunrays in a myriad of flickering golden sparkles.

Proudly wearing the new dress she'd been gifted for the occasion, Chan had excitedly pushed her way to the front so she could get the best view of the moment in which her new big sister would officially become a Flower Priestess of the Temple, along with the other three young apprentices the High Priest Tatsuma Suguro had deemed ready for initiation.

Indeed, she was just in time – soon after the small crowd had gathered outside, the High Priest stepped out from under the eaves of the main building of the Temple, followed by the four girls who were to become full-fledged Priestesses. Like the other girls, Shiemi was barefoot and wearing a long, sleeveless dress made of light white silk, decorated with small silver leaves around the cleavage and waist. Her hair had been swept up in a small bun in which the older Priestesses had braided delicate white carnations, her whole attire looking almost bridal – since it was believed that all servants of the Temples were primly wedded to their vocations before other worldly ties.

The petite blonde was smiling happily through tears of joy as she walked towards the marble dais set up in the middle of the yard, both excited and humbled by the thought of tracing her grandmother's footsteps and completely unaware that aside from the cheery audience others were also watching her in that very moment.

Konekomaru had always enjoyed Temple celebrations of all kinds and now realised that he'd been staring past the ivy-clad fence with his mouth open for a rather long while, having completely forgotten the reason he'd ended up there in the first place, namely following his master who had _almost_ inconspicuously sneaked out of the palace without a word to anyone.

Rin was standing in the shade of a large oak just near the fence, where the thick ivy leaves effectively concealed him from inside view, peeking with enough concentration that he'd completely failed to notice the little monk who had crept only a few feet away from his spot.

"Master? What are you doing here?" the Aria asked, feigning ignorance. Upon receiving no immediate answer, he repeated the question, a little louder.

"Hmm?" the prince muttered, as if half-woken from a dream. The lost, wishful expression on his face changed somewhat upon noticing his servant, concealed by a quickly mustered, unconvincing scowl. "Well, what does it look like I'm doing?"

The little monk resorted to scratching his head, deciding that giving an honest answer would have been a bad idea. "You know, you just up and left, so… I mean what if they ask me where you've been?"

Rin sighed in annoyance – the other had a point but he didn't want to think of it, he just… Was it really so bad that he'd come to watch Shiemi's initiation ceremony? His gaze couldn't touch her, she wouldn't even know he'd been here. She was so beautiful and for once she looked so happy, her smile was so bright and sweet, the demon boy couldn't take his eyes off her, even if he knew he shouldn't. He had no right. This was wrong in more ways than one.

"We'll just tell them that I was bored and I went out to have some fun," he said dismissively, returning his attention to his object of interest. "Which I was, by the way. Bored, I mean."

"Where?"

"I don't know… the food market?" Konekomaru looked skeptical and knowing that the little Aria would be reluctant to cover up for him, Rin scowled some more, finally tearing himself away from the fence. "Let's go there," he grumbled, dragging his feet and fruitlessly trying to shake off the guilty feeling in his gut.

* * *

It had taken Rin almost three hours to finally deceive Konekomaru's watchfulness – after pointlessly wandering through the food market and the narrow streets of down town, they'd eventually made it back to the palace but just as the little monk had headed for the servants' dining hall for a late lunch, his master had slipped away again through a back door. By the time he was back to the Temple the ceremony was over, much to his chagrin, but some people still lingered in the gardens so the demon boy kept hope he could maybe get another glimpse of Shiemi before the day was over.

He carefully sneaked next to a portion of the fence where there were fewer ivy leaves and he could see better, now without the worry of being discovered peeking by the Temple staff. Some girlish voices could be heard nearby, behind a bush, so Rin craned his neck, trying to see who it was, impatiently gripping the decorated metal bars.

It turned to be a dreadful mistake, because a brusque shower of sparks erupted under his touch and the metal cracked in several places, causing an entire portion of the fence to collapse inwards, with a loud clatter. Protective charms, Rin figured, meant to keep demons from entering the Temple grounds.

"DEMON! THERE'S A DEMON THERE!" a tiny voice shrieked in panic, followed by the rushed patter of footsteps.

Rin lifted his awed gaze from the fallen piece of fence, momentarily at a loss of what to do, and saw a little brunette girl staring at him wide-eyed. "Y-You're a demon!" she cried, a finger pointing accusatorily in his direction. "Go away, go away! H-How dare you, demon?!"

 _SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! Oh, this is bad!_

"N-No, I'm-"

"Rin? Is that you?"

Shiemi had come from behind the shrubbery - alerted by the little girl's shouts - and walked up to him with a wide smile even as the prince was backing off, intending to make himself scarce before anyone else got to lay eyes on him, and took his hand in hers unexpectedly, nearly making him flinch.

"What are you doing?! He's a demon!" Chan cried, dashing forward and trying to tug at the blonde's arm, but Shiemi only laughed softly, draping an arm around her skinny shoulders and pulling her close.

"No, no! Rin is an exorcist," she reassured. "We're reading the story of the Princess Harumi," she told the demon boy, while stroking Chan's hair. "Do you know it?"

Rin blinked, still shaking slightly with nervousness. "Eh… no," he confessed awkwardly. The story of what? And he still couldn't believe the cute little Flower Priestess was here, talking to him! "I-I'm sorry about-…" he motioned to the fence. "I'm afraid that I must have leaned against it a bit too heavily o-or something…"

Pressed flush and somewhat protectively against Shiemi's side, the little girl was still observing him skeptically, with a scowl.

"I'm so glad!" Shiemi said, her face glowing. "I'm so happy to see you again!" she blurted out, before a visible blush spread on her cheeks and she seemed to reign herself in, lowering her gaze. "Did you… come to see me?"

Rin mustered a small, impish smile in turn, nodding. "I wanted to see if, uh… if you were alright here. I mean, I know that, um…" he hesitated, biting his lower lip. "Well, Miss Moriyama, I suppose that I should have asked you before, uh, before suggesting this arrangement to the High Priest."

Shiemi leaned and whispered in Chan's ear for the little girl to wait for her back in her room, lips pressing briefly in the dark locks of her protégé as she tried to get a grip on herself and steady her pounding heart. After the brunette walked away, a bit reluctantly, the petite priestess took a deep breath, trying not to stare in awe as the exorcist took a step closer, still holding her small hand in both of his.

"It's Shiemi, please," she whispered demurely.

It was actually the first time she was seeing Rin Okumura in daylight, fact which was in itself remarkable, the blonde figured, bringing him out of the mirage of her blurred memories and making him a palpable presence again. He was wearing the same non-descript black clothes from back when they'd first met, looking striking in the midst of all the golden, warm nuances around. The black, fingerless gloves contrasted with the paleness of his fingers and forearms, visible under the half-rolled up sleeves, his face was the same unnatural, perfect white framed by luscious ink-black, unruly bangs, but his eyes had a somewhat more luminous, glassy shade of blue reminding her of a cat.

"Shiemi, you're not… mad at me, are you? Because I talked to Tatsuma Suguro?" Rin asked, uncertain. "I swear that I didn't, um… I didn't tell him, you know, everything, just… only that I believed that you'd be safer here in general, after what happened." He motioned to the fallen fence on which the priests had placed protective charms, brusquely realizing his stupidity right as he was doing so, but the petite priestess didn't seem to have caught on. "Well, I also told him that your mother had already tried to marry you against your will once and would most likely try again. And I know what Temple priests think-… I mean that they disagree with the idea of arranged marriages."

She nearly flinched, suddenly and violently reminded that Rin Okumura _was married_. The awfulness of the fact became even more evident as the chagrin of it seeped into his words, almost unsubtle and she couldn't but be deeply moved by his thoughtfulness. Her instincts had not been wrong – whatever it was that must have been occult about his person, the exorcist truly cared about her in a genuine, disinterested way, enough to do what he could to see her spared of his own misfortune. It was a pity that he had not been so lucky himself – but Ryuji Suguro had mentioned that he was from a 'privileged family' and she wondered what that meant exactly. Maybe a particularly gifted family? Maybe he had to be married so that his gift would be passed on instead of going to waste if he chose to remain celibate, maybe his wife was especially gifted also and had been chosen on purpose. It had never occurred to her that Rin could have children (the wife was bad enough), after all he was still so young and couldn't have been married for long, but now the thought made her stomach cringe painfully.

 _Stop it, just stop thinking… just stop… please…_

The demon boy pursed his mouth, poking his tongue inside his cheek, looking like he'd inadvertently blurted out something he wasn't supposed to, looking away from her face, past her shoulder, where he'd spotted Chan spying on them from behind an ornamental pillar. Shiemi followed his gaze briefly, enough to ascertain what was going on, and turned back around with a light

giggle, giving his hands a soft squeeze.

"No, of course not," the blonde said. "I'm very grateful for your kindness. I'm happy here, they're like a family to me and see, I even got a little sister now! But she's very shy and has happened to be rather frightened by a story her late mother used to read to her, about the Princess Harumi…" she explained.

The prince tilted his head a bit to the side, curious. "Oh… Is it a scary story?"

"Eh, seems to be," Shiemi replied, shrugging. "But we don't know how it ends, because the book is torn and the last part is missing. What I made out of it so far is that Princess Harumi was a Flower Priestess who was living happily in her garden, but then it turned out that a demon prince was watching her and… I don't know, he wanted to, uh, eat her soul or something… "

Rin blinked, lips parting as he let out a small, almost inaudible gasp. _A demon prince? Damn, Mephisto must be right, I must have some bad karma or something… Seriously, she read a story about a demon prince?! What were the odds…_

"W-Well," he said, clearing his throat. "How bad can it be?"

Shiemi chuckled softly. "What, having your soul eaten? I don't know, you're the exorcist, but…"

"No, I mean it can't end that badly. It's a children's book, right?" Rin clarified. "And besides, to put her mind at ease, you could make up an ending for her. Let's say… the demon prince was watching her and wanted to eat her soul, but the prince was married to the queen of trolls and she found out, got jealous and kicked his ass."

The blonde broke into full laughter this time. "Oh, that would be such a funny story! How did you make it up so fast?" she marveled.

Because it's not a story, the demon boy thought bitterly, but outwardly he smiled, even if the thought of Shura finding out gave him chills. He loved to see Shiemi laugh, it warmed his heart to see her so happy and radiant now, it was like seeing the tiny, helpless and nearly shriveled bud that she'd been miraculously blossoming into the loveliest of flowers.

"Well, Shiemi, remember what I told you," Rin said with a smile. "I have to go now. Be safe." Saying that, the young prince held her hand up and pressed his lips softly onto her knuckles for a long moment, after which, seemingly changing his mind, he turned her hand up and pressed another kiss into her open palm.

And then the exorcist was gone, leaving her skin burn where his lips had touched it.

* * *

"He's a demon," Chan insisted petulantly, arms crossed as she sat on Shiemi's bed. "Seriously, big sister, did you not see how he was looking at you?"

The blonde could barely pay attention to what the little girl was saying, breathing deeply in a failed attempt to calm the butterflies in her stomach.

"Oh, how was he looking at me?"

"Like he wanted to eat you up."

 ** _To be continued_**


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER 9**

A/N – Hello everyone! I keep being slow with the updates and I'm sorry about that. I was really hoping to do something during the vacation, but my muses messed with me and I haven't been very successful – I even tried to plan the upcoming chaps but… just no. So, in the absence of better things to do, I have included a shameless little episode in this chap (because OTPs aside we all have our dirty little secrets), but heh I regret nothing ;)) Anyway, without further ado, let's see what happens ;)

* * *

Afterwards, Rin found Konekomaru in his room, sitting stiffly on a small stool, looking dejected and slightly scared, probably trying to keep out of sight and avoid questions he couldn't give satisfactory answer to after his master had managed to escape his vigilance yet again. The demon prince sat down on the monk's cot slowly, in front of him, gaze lowered almost bashfully while he sought the right words with which to explain himself. Of course, the boy was in the end just a servant, but Rin thought it was best if even his suspicions were put to rest before they would grow and develop into something more dangerous.

"Koneko… I needed to see Miss Moriyama," he began seriously, hoping that his tone sounded neutral enough. "I needed to speak to her and make sure that she didn't… resent the present arrangement. I needed to put my mind at ease that my decision of sending her to the Temple wasn't wrong in any way. Do you understand?"

The little Aria continued to stare absently in his lap, shoulders hunched, as if he didn't dare move. "Yes, master." His voice was a mere murmur and his lips barely moved, everything a clear enough indication that he was still worried and Rin's explanation wasn't quite cutting it. "But… uh… I believe that… she likes you, master. So maybe, in these circumstances, perhaps it's better if-…"

Yes. Shiemi liked him and she wasn't making the slightest effort to conceal it, as if any kind of dissimulation was something way beyond the pure, truthful being that she was, and Rin was finding it hard to ignore the warm feeling in his gut at the thought, even if it brought with it a sharp fear of the ever vague but possible consequences.

"She knows that I'm married." He wondered if that singular detail really helped… probably not, since much closer to home it didn't stop people from having their way with each other.

Konekomaru looked up at last. "She does?"

"Yeah. During the time I was trying to identify the type of demon she was being tormented by, we had a long, personal conversation," Rin said, shrugging, "and this came up too, among other things. And it's not like I've ever tried to conceal my status, for any purposes… And I like her too, she's intelligent and easy to talk to and I enjoyed talking to her, but there's nothing more to it. She's just someone I could talk to freely, but only because she doesn't know who I am… and I suppose that I've grown relatively fond of her since I don't really have any friends."

That was probably wrong to say, however true, he realized. He was supposedly happily married to Shura and no statements infirming it were allowed on his behalf, yet they kept slipping him, more and more frequently, it seemed.

"I mean, not after… " Damn, he shouldn't try so hard to make excuses, not to his manservant, this was only incriminating him further. "Not after I had the fallout with my brother."

The little monk lowered his gaze again, a bit too quickly, and Rin realized he'd done it again, even worse. He wasn't supposed to talk about that either – it was another well-kept secret that his brother resented his marriage to Lady Kirigakure, the woman the younger twin had fallen in love with the very moment he'd laid eyes on her, despite being only a child at the time. But damn, there were just too many things he had to shut up about, so many that it was becoming increasingly hard to avoid them and stick to safe topics.

To his relief, Koneko already knew of this, but never pressed for explanations.

* * *

And at that they'd left it the night before, the prince feeling no need to explore or explain things any further. A sense of fatigue and burden over the whole affair had come over him brusquely after the mixture of excitement and fear had eventually died down and had made him tired, in dire need of a long rest. He knew what he had to do – stay away from Shiemi Moriyama from then onwards, just… never try to see her again. Of course, he wanted to, at times _ached_ _to_ even, but nothing good could possibly come of it. She had a new life now at the Temple and a happy one too since she was radiant as never before and no demon prince could hope to be a part of it.

Rin groaned softly, eyelids fluttering open lazily upon instinctively sensing a peculiar movement, after which he became fully awake suddenly, aware of the fact that now there was someone else in his bed.

Now, that was an unpleasant situation.

' _Have I ever said that you should be faithful to her?'_ The young demon recalled the King's words and inwardly shuddered – had Mephisto actually… sent a girl to his bedchamber? He wouldn't do that, would he?! Not without asking him first, right?! But then, Rin would have said 'no' for sure, he would not, he would _never_ have accepted-… The bed creaked audibly as whoever the intruder was shifted closer and under the light sheets a pair of fingers 'walked' up his spine, pressing ever so gently on his bare skin.

"I can't believe it, now you've even come to troll me _in my own bed_ ," Rin muttered, finally catching a whiff of familiar perfume.

"Is that a problem? Were you by any chance doing anything interesting and I interrupted?"

The prince gritted his teeth, instantly annoyed. "No." He had been still sleeping actually, but he figured it must have been pretty late by now and certainly that wouldn't have possibly counted as 'interesting'…

"That's what I thought, that your bed is a boring place," Shura laughed openly, shifting again and propping herself up on one elbow behind him. As her husband said nothing in reply, probably fuming silently at the irony, she went on. "I received your letter of apology yesterday, that was soooo cute… Of course, I know none of it is true, I'm sure you regret nothing," she chuckled.

Since Rin remained stubbornly silent, the princess reached further under the covers and grabbed his tail, giving it a hearty tug. "Oi, don't ignore me!"

Rin yelped and rolled quickly onto his back, reaching out to free his sensitive appendage before it was going to be pulled at again. "What the hell?! That hurt!" He snorted angrily. "What are you doing here, anyway?!"

The redhead's face was much too close to his, purple eyes shining with mirth as she observed him carefully. "Well, like you well pointed, I came to _troll_ you in your own bed," Shura replied, increasingly amused. "After all, a husband and wife do belong to each other bodily. You have rights and so have I, and since it finally dawned on me that you're old enough – what, almost sixteen now? – I figured we should… you know."

The demon boy stared blankly at the ceiling, suddenly plagued by a dark suspicion – namely that it had probably occurred to the _absolute queen of trolls_ that was his wife to sleep with him just for the wicked purpose of making fun of his predictable lack of skills afterwards. Indeed, a very 'juicy' subject he was never going to hear the end of! And now, after Mephisto's warning, he couldn't even make any nasty remarks to extract himself effectively out of this situation. Fuck.

"I don't think this would ever be a good idea," Rin said slowly. "Mephisto would find out and he would be less than thrilled about it. You have always been _his_ woman." _Damn it!_ _Aaaah, fuck!_ Now he'd just made it sound (yet again!) like the idea was bothering him, like he was jealous, when the point was completely different! But how to put that politely?!

Shura leaned in, pressing her mouth against his ear and even playfully trying her teeth a bit onto the pointy tip. "But that would not change anything with Meph and besides, he very much wants this marriage to work, you know. Or at least, to look like it's working, pfffft…"

And then she was touching him – her hand stroked the side of his face, wandered down on his neck, his chest, teasingly explored and traced the shapely muscles of his abdomen – and Rin let his eyelids drop, almost drowsily, involuntarily imagining it was Shiemi's small hand, and this was a loving touch. Yes, she was… No, no, not Shiemi, he couldn't, _shouldn't_ think of Shiemi, maybe it was better if he just let this happen, if he let Shura distract him, make him forget…

No. This was wrong. He didn't want Shura – not that she wasn't attractive, for she was undoubtedly one of the most beautiful women he'd ever seen, but the trouble was _he wanted someone else_ , and altogether on a more… theoretical plane for the time being, as it was. And right now, he couldn't as much as _let it happen_ , the sudden, raw reality of it was freaking him out, he wasn't ready either, just… just no. And he accidentally said that last part out loud, too.

"Oh my God, Rin, you didn't _really_ think I was going to pop your cherry, did you?!" the princess laughed, rolling away on the mattress and nearly kicking her legs in unrestrained amusement. "Besides, I know you want to do it with a girl who would be completely smitten with you and see you as the mighty demon prince with the flaming sword, tehehehehe!"

The demon boy curled back on his side, even tighter than before, muttering something from which she could only make out a few words, namely '…such a turn-off!' and '…right in my assumption that you came here to troll me!', which only fueled her mirth. But he was secretly relieved that it had been nothing more than her usual teasing, at least he'd gotten away easily, without having to phrase an open rejection.

"I'm sorry," Shura said eventually, scooting closer and wrapping an arm around him from behind, burying her nose in the soft, black locks. "You know I can't help teasing you, you're just way too cute when you get mad." She sighed. "I want you to know that I didn't… complain to Meph and I surely never meant for him to punish you for it either. God… what did he do to you, anyway?"

Eyes closed, Rin scowled and pressed his lips in a pained grimace she could not see, taking his time with the answer.

"It's not as much what he did as what he said," the prince breathed out at last. "Because what he said was…" He paused, tsking. "Basically, what he said was that I deserve to have a horrible spouse because I have bad karma or something."

 _There!_

Shura chuckled, the implication lost on her. "Poor Meph, he must know what he's talking about," she said.

"Is that so… But then it also means you too have bad karma," Rin pointed dryly. "Since you too have a horrible spouse and all. Because Mephisto also said that I'm a horrible, horrible person and I don't deserve to… get any better than this." _That I don't deserve to be loved,_ he thought, but saying it out loud would have been just too painful.

"Oh, _I_ don't have bad karma, I'm not the one with the horrible spouse," the princess replied softly, snuggling closer."Rin, you're just… too young to deal with all this in an effective way, I suppose. I don't know, I guess when I was your age I too used to take things so very seriously, but then it turned out to be a bad idea when it came to doing my duty. Please, rest assured that it won't be so bad, Meph said that he'll let you take a second wife later on, someone you can be happy with."

Rin remained silent, lips pressed stubbornly and barely fighting back a sob as the redhead stroked his hair. _Someone I can be happy with… what a cruel joke. As if that would ever work, as long as I'm not free to tell the truth about the two of you! Shiemi or any other girl would loathe me for it, she would only be miserable thinking she'd have to share me with you… No, no, stop thinking of Shiemi, she's lost, she's… happy now, away, away from me…_ No, he couldn't possibly marry Shiemi, not even if Mephisto allowed it, not even if she would have ever agreed to this twisted arrangement, a pure and delicate being like her simply had no place among the horrendous shit that was his family and the royal court.

"It won't work that way. I think he's right, I am horrible and I have nothing to offer to anyone."

Shura tsked softly, turning his face so that she could look into his eyes. "Now, that's not true! You're a very sweet boy, even when you throw those epic tantrums." Her lips twitched in hidden amusement at the very thought. "And I love you."

Rin rolled his eyes. "Yeah. You just have a fucked up way of showing it, my honored and beloved wife," he whispered, as if it were a treasured secret just between the two of them.

"Always." The princess leaned in and placed a quick peck on the tip of his nose, in the same time reaching out for his left hand. With a gentle, almost sensual caress, she eased out the wedding ring off Rin's finger and placed it on the nightstand instead. "There, breathe a little better now?"

 ** _To be continued_**

A/N – yes, yes, I know, not much happening in this chap, but it was needed to make some thing clear, as you may have noticed. Anyway, next time… things will get complicated (a nice way to say they will go downhill…), so stay tuned for more ;)


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER 10**

A/N – Hello my dear readers! So, seeing how it's been almost a month since my last update, thank you for your exceptional patience! (if you really have any of that left ;))) Anyway, I've been meaning to let you know that, even if I don't have a chapter plan per say, I do have an idea where the plot is going (that is to say, it IS going somewhere). Fear not though, there shall be no spoilers ;) Enjoy!

* * *

Days and nights passed numbly for the young prince for the next few weeks, such that he barely noticed when the ardent summer sun became milder with the arrival of autumn. He worked on his assigned tasks in a daze, not leaving the palace grounds anymore unless absolutely required, the cheerful, carefree grin from before permanently gone from his face. He failed to heed the extensive harvesting works which went on beyond the walls of the city and the preparations for the upcoming Inari Festival, which took place all around the city and inside the palace. To Rin, the whole world was now dead and drained of color and he moved around in it breathless, like a ghost.

The little monk Konekomaru was numb too, but with a deep-seated fear which the poor boy was unable to shake off. As he'd thought – his master was lost and now he had absolute certainty of it. His master was in love with the little Flower Priestess Shiemi Moriyama, this dreadful reality was bound to surface sooner or later and when that happened all hell would break loose because he instinctively guessed that this went beyond a mere infatuation, beyond a mere affair. In fact, it would have been a real relief if some straightforward, short-lived and uncomplicated affair would have been consummated between the prince and his protégée, but as things were, Shiemi Moriyama wasn't the kind of girl who would have given in just like that and Rin, despite his passionate and volcanic temperament, wasn't prone to flings either. After all, he'd never considered having a fling before, even if his so-called 'devotion' to his imposed lawful wife had never fooled Konekomaru for a single moment.

And so, the monk harbored very little hope that the prince would emerge peaceful from this dark phase (even if by some miracle the king and his courtiers failed to notice that he constantly looked like he was in mourning) most likely he would not be able to leave his feelings behind and inappropriate thoughts would arise in his troubled mind, thoughts for which Konekomaru too would be blamed, because was his duty to watch over the prince and as need be report if something was off with him. The last thing needed was for Rin to go behind the king's back and take a girl with humble origins (priestess or not) as his second wife.

On the other side of the city, the peaceful area which was the Temples District was also buzzing with preparations for the Inari Festival and the Temple of Flowers made no exception. Countless plants were prepared for the decorations to be placed all around the city to color the usually bland streets and inside the large courtyard of the royal palace. Shiemi had her mind busy with thoughts of work most of time, but random dreams still visited her every now and then, some sweet and innocent, others hot, dark and sinful, when she'd wake up still feeling the burn of Rin Okumura's lips on her skin.

 _He's a demon_

What a childish, crazy, superstitious suspicion, though! He'd done nothing wrong. No impropriety. Even though there was something there, like the thin, vague shadow of a thought, the idea that Rin still liked her, still wanted her even, Shiemi had seen it linger in the blue depth of his catlike eyes, felt it hang as an unspoken word on his lips, in the subtle pressure of his fingers on her own.

Yet, she would not allow questions of the future to creep in from the depths of her soul and trouble her just yet.

Would she live single among the priests and priestesses at the Temple for the rest of her life? Tatsuma Suguro was married and had a son. Or was he? He'd vaguely mentioned something of the kind, but Shiemi had not seen his wife of heard anything of her per say. Maybe he wasn't really _married_? Among the servants of the Temple celibacy was not a requirement and the monk who had brought her there had mentioned something about the 'liberties' boys and girls taken from their homes enjoyed in their new lives, liberties which would have been inconceivable had they remained with their families.

Had Grandma been married to the father of her child? The Head Priest had only mentioned her moving away to a new home once she'd had the child – probably because the Temple was no place for a baby – but she'd kept her duties all the same. Such thoughts brought her a certain amount of shame though, that she looked for a justification to believe that the idea of being a married man's mistress was not sinful and debauched. Most certainly Grandma had not been anyone's _mistress_ \- if anything her grandfather must have been an unwedded priest who could not leave his service for parenthood – and all those who cared for Shiemi would have been crudely disappointed (or so she imagined) if she were to do anything immoral.

Or so the blonde mostly thought until the day came for her to have a certain conversation.

* * *

On the very eve of the Festival Day, a small group of Inari Priestesses arrived at the Temple of Flowers to choose several arrangements, among which two girls Shiemi had known from back in the days when her Grandma was sending her to play out in the street – Izumo Kamiki and Noriko Paku. Shiemi had not seen them in many, many years, since they'd been taken by the Temple at a very young age, yet recognized the two nevertheless.

Paku had grown into a graceful, yet somewhat shy looking girl, her mouse brown hair cropped short and artful, but Izumo, like most Inari Priestesses, was indeed stunning. She had long, purple-red hair braided down to her waist and an impossibly lean frame, her garnet eyes were finely outlined with charcoal in a catlike shape and her small mouth was like a rose petal. Everything about the two girls exuded a mysterious yet almost palpable sensuality, even if now they both wore simple cloth cloaks instead of the usual lavish silk garments of their Order and their faces were shadowed by the large black hoods. Shiemi was not too surprised by her friends' transformation though, since the goddess Inari embodied fertility and the richness of earth and her Priestesses were always chosen from among the most beautiful girls.

"Shiemi, I can't believe it, who would have thought that all three of us were so lucky to leave the slums behind and become Priestesses!" said Paku, as the blonde was preparing a luxurious arrangement of blue and white orchids in a fancy hamper of sorts. "Is it true that your grandmother used to live here too when she was young?"

The Flower Priestess nodded.

"Can't imagine why she left, this place is amazing!"

Shiemi bit her lip. Would it have been a good idea to ask Paku and Izumo about what troubled her? They hadn't seen each other in a very long time for her to confide in them so freely now and besides, things could have been very different for the servants of Inari. "Well, she had my mother and-…" She shrugged it off, a tad uncomfortable. It was weird enough that she didn't even know what the whole truth was.

"Enough of the past!" Izumo cut in waving her gracious hand in dismissal. "What about now? Shiemi, we couldn't help noticing a few very fine looking boys around here… So, tell us, did anyone catch your eye already?"

"Oh, and there's also Ryuuji Suguro!" Paku added, with a grin. "You must have met Ryuuji Suguro, right? Damn, that boy… he's like a god! He looks so strong and wild, like the Fire God himself!"

Izumo pursed her mouth, rolling her eyes. "Forget about him, Paku, I heard he's taken a celibacy oath for now. A waste if you ask me…" she stated, shaking her head.

Shiemi was genuinely taken aback as to how forward the girls were with the subject, as well as suddenly confused by this unexpected bit of information. She didn't know what to say. "Wha-… so Priests take ce-celibacy oaths?"

"Eh, the Arias do. More like… in theory, I think," Izumo explained. "Renzo Shima says he's taken it as well, but seriously who the hell believes him…" She rolled her eyes. "He's a Fire Priest and an Aria too, he's friends with Ryuuji Suguro."

"Izumo flirts with him," Paku clarified. "A lot."

Shiemi took a deep breath, feeling partially relieved. "So, you too like someone you're not supposed to, Izumo?" she asked, timidly.

The other two girls appeared to be pondering seriously for a moment, then broke into a fit of giggles, elbowing each other.

"Shiemi…" Izumo began gravely. "Do you like… someone _you're not supposed to_?" She burst into laughter. "Goodness, what does that even mean, 'not supposed to'?" The purple-haired girl reached out and rubbed the Flower Priestess's arm. "Shiemi, you're a free woman, you can like whoever you damn want to!"

Well, that sure was a radical way of seeing things, the blonde thought. Did the Priestesses of Inari enjoy such a freedom of spirit that there were no conventions or laws they were supposed to heed? Now, that was hardly believable, but the mischievous smile playing on Izumo's lips was a clear indication that she and Paku didn't exactly go by the rulebook.

"Well… actually he's, uh… married," she confessed, reluctantly.

"Pffft, he's _married_ … big deal," Izumo observed.

"Married? I don't know any young Priest that is married," Paku said surprised. "He _is_ young, right?"

Shiemi shook her head, sighing. "Yeah, he is about our age… but he's not a Priest, he's an exorcist. Ryuuji Suguro seemed to know him, but he made it sound like exorcists are… I don't know, like a taboo. The monk who brought me here said something like that too. They also said that he's from a privileged family too, so… I guess his wife must be important or so."

Izumo ignored the mystery and wife-related details completely. "We've never met any exorcists… worth looking at. But they're wicked, I heard, they say that these men who've got what it takes to fight demons are pretty wild themselves. How did you meet him?! What's he like? Tell us everything!"

 _Wild._

That otherworldly blue, with a core of pure flames. The deadly swish of his sword. Nails digging into her back, feeling sharp like the claws of a beast.

' _Shiemi… give in to me'_

The petite blonde exhaled, realizing that for a long moment there she'd forgotten how to breathe.

"The truth is… not long ago I got sick and a demon began to haunt me… and mother talked to a priest from the True Cross order. And I was kind of scared the first time the exorcist came, I really didn't want to see him. I thought he was some old priest and he'd say nasty things and scold me… But then, he was _nothing_ I had expected. Instead-…" Shiemi paused, biting her bottom lip and shaking her head.

' _Instead he was the sweetest and most beautiful boy I've ever seen and I nearly had an affair with him…'_

"He was very, very kind to me and even brought a potion which healed all my wounds to perfection. As for what he looks like, I don't know how to explain exactly, but he looks like… like he's lived in moonlight all his life. His hair is the blackest black, his skin perfectly white and his eyes are the most beautiful blue I've ever seen!"

Paku raised an eyebrow in surprise, while Izumo rubbed her chin, thoughtful. "Hmm… what's his name? Hard to believe that such a gem could be hiding unseen with the True Cross order, as weird as they are. We do know _a lot_ of people!"

Shiemi hesitated. "Look… we just talked for a bit when… when he was treating me, that's all. And I noticed that there was a wedding ring on his finger… So there was never anything-… I-I don't want him to find out that I like him and stuff! I mean, I know that we can never-…"

Izumo tilted her head. "Oh, come on. This is just a little girl talk, all the swooning stays between us, we wouldn't want the men finding out and it getting to their heads, now would we? No, girl, that's a big 'no, no'."

The blonde shrugged, embarrassed. "His name is Rin Okumura," she conceded at last, and failed to notice Izumo sucking in a sharp breath, her eyes widening ever so slightly.

'Eh… d-doesn't ring any bells," Paku stuttered, almost choking. "But, uh, could be, like, the name of one of the noble families, I… I guess?"

"Say, Shiemi, you're going to the festival tomorrow night, yes?" the purple-haired priestess said with a sudden grin. "Come with us and I promise we'll forget about all the unrequited crushes…"

 _ **To be continued**_

A/N – Not to give spoilers and fail-attempt to redeem myself after this shorter chap in which nothing really happens, but you know what's coming, right? One hell of a parteeeeeeeee!


	11. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER 11**

A/N – Hello everyone! Again a late update, as you can see my muses did it again! (and of course now I have a cold and keep blowing my nose as I type ) But… I will say only this, this chap will not be as disappointing as the rest, in terms of our pairing meeting and stuff (ooops, a spoiler!). Well, I suppose that's enough agonizing over a proper introduction for now, enjoy today's update! ;)

 _Warning_ : slight mentions of alcohol consumption

* * *

Shiemi ran a hand through the soft blonde locks with an air of desperation. It was quite late and she'd only now convinced Chan to go to bed, having done nothing to get ready. A servant had left a dress in her room for the Festival early in the morning but she'd not bothered to as much as look at it until now, focused entirely on the remaining work to be done for the preparations.

She threw a wary look at the garment laid on the bed, knowing that Paku and Izumo would show up any moment to get her. She'd always worn her hair simple and mostly loose, completely lacking her grandmother's skill for those elegant, complicated buns the old Priestess had always worn her hair in. There also were some tiny make-up boxes on the vanity table, but Shiemi had no idea how to use those either. She was doomed – on the day when even Priests wore make-up and fancy garments to look their best for the Inari celebrations she was going to prove a complete disaster!

"Behold! I told you she wasn't ready yet!"

Izumo stormed into the room like summer rain followed obediently by Paku and stopped right in the middle of it, hands on her hips and an eyebrow arched dramatically. The blonde could do nothing but stare, mouth open, at the barely-there strips of silk covering Izumo's chest before expanding into an ample and long crimson skirt below the golden girdle and at the luscious purple hair artfully braided into the traditional Nine Tails. Paku wore a similarly flashy outfit, both their faces were covered with a fine layer of porcelain-like powder, their eyes were lined with black and their lips were painted the brightest red.

"I-I don't really know what to do-…" the Flower Priestess mumbled, motioning helplessly towards the dress, but her friend only rolled her eyes.

"Paku, help me," she ordered.

In no time Shiemi was out of her daily clothes and the girls tied the silvery straps holding together the white fabric of her dress around her waist tightly, the silk folds falling smoothly along the curves of her body. The whole dress was just white and silver, and the top was sleeveless, with a deep cleavage and thin, delicate straps. It was both innocent and daring, more so than anything Shiemi had ever worn.

"Your hair is beautiful just as it is, so we won't do much about it," Izumo decided, only doing a small braid to one side and sweeping it behind Shiemi's ear. She didn't bother with make-up either, aside from painting the blonde's lips the same shade of red as theirs.

The petite Flower Priestess took a look in the mirror and almost blushed. "Oh… I-I'm so nervous… What if I-…?"

"I'm kind of nervous too, it's the first time that I must dance in public and the King… will be there…" Paku confessed in turn.

Izumo however was quick to present a solution, in the form of a tiny bottle she'd been keeping hidden inside her girdle. She popped the cap with an expert flick of her thumb and took a hearty swig before presenting it to Shiemi. The blonde looked at it uncertain for a second before mirroring the gesture (the liquid burning sharply down her throat) and then passed it to Paku, already feeling like the room was going to start spinning any moment now.

"Don't you know, tonight is the only night of the year in which everyone is allowed to misbehave?" the purple-haired Priestess giggled. "Besides, by the end of the celebrations everyone will be so drunk, that for sure no one will be able to remember anything by morning. So…." Izumo grinned wildly. "Tonight I'm getting three Arias! _At least_ …" she declared and burst into laughter.

"Ahhhh, maybe even Ryuuji Suguro," Paku suggested and took another swig, nearly choking.

While sober, Shiemi would have been at least slightly concerned upon hearing this, but now she only felt her own mouth widening into a silly smile. She had very little time to process what was going on anyway, since she was pulled out of the room and into the street, where the three girls were practically swept away by the colorful crowd which was already singing and dancing wildly in the rhythm of drums.

* * *

The walls and columns of the whole palace yard had been polished golden, myriads of colorful lamps and large candle trees of all shapes making the shade glow against the night sky and lavish red-and-golden drapes, paper and flower decorations hung from the terrace railings. The bold colors of Inari adorned everything, from to the garments of the musicians and their instruments to the bracelets and hair ribbons of the serving girls.

"You should try to have some fun tonight, it's the biggest party of the year," Shura said, smoothing the young prince's ruffled hair with her fingers, then turned fully to face him and scowled. "You look so pale," she added and pinched his cheeks with both hands, as hard as she could.

"Owwww! That hurt!" Rin hissed, nearly blinking back tears.

He could only be bothered to put on a pair of trousers and boots better than the usual and a somewhat fancy black velvet jacket (he _would not_ outshine his beloved wife, oh no!), but bearing Mephisto's proximity during the celebrations was a grim perspective. Mustering a smile on the day when the whole world was celebrating fulfilled love was too much for him.

Shura grabbed his hand and pulled him out on the terrace where the royal seats were set and Rin guessed that his wife for one was surely planning to have fun during the party. King Mephisto was already there, surrounded by his five pure-blood wives who looked beyond resplendent and he stepped forward to greet the red-haired princess, taking her hand in his with a shrewd smile.

"Welcome, Lady Okumura! You look absolutely radiant this evening," he said, pressing a kiss onto her knuckles. "Little brother, is it too early for you to stop sulking? I promise the food is good, fufufu… And believe it or not, I actually managed to dig Yukio up from the library as well, behold!"

Rin only rolled his eyes and snorted, but the King of Time ignored him, leaning in to whisper into Shura's ear. "As for you, my lovely jewel, my _true_ queen, I do hope to see you later, when eyes will have dulled and lights will have faded…"

The demon boy threw a glance past Mephisto's shoulder and saw his twin slumped into a seat next to Amaimon's, but the younger turned his head upon spotting him. His lips pursed into a pained grimace – after three years it was time to finally have a talk with his brother about what was eating Yukio, but now it really wasn't a good moment (and that clown who had no desire to make things easy but plenty to complicate them knew it too!). As such, Rin decided to disappear as soon as the Inari Priests and Priestesses, who were the most important in the procession, were going to walk past the gates and the celebrations would begin.

The gates had been already opened, the drums executing a monotonous rhythm until a gong resounded loudly and the music picked up pace, together with the voices of the chorus and the buzz of an approaching crowd, reaching its peak when people finally began pouring in. In front there was a small group of young Inari Priestesses, including Izumo and Paku, and they came in jumping and dancing, slamming bone drumsticks into the large tablas placed on each side, seeming to float gracefully among the crimson waves of silk.

The other Orders followed in a mixed, colorful crowd, singing and cheering, until everyone had come inside and joined the large circle formed around the Inari Priests and Priestesses. The eyes of the King and of all the court were on them, the level of noise just enough and Rin slipped from his seat lightly - in the usual fashion of his cat familiar - and left, seeking the much-needed relief of solitude.

* * *

A while later, the young prince was still sulking, plagued by a mixture of boredom and disgust which seemed to increase with the noise and buzz of the celebrations. In the brightly lit front yard people were dancing, drinking and whatnot, he figured that by now the king and his wife must have subtly made themselves scarce as well and his steps carried him mindlessly along the dark column corridor leading to the back garden, further and further away from the music and the ruckus of the crowd. And then…

He saw Shiemi resting on the steps, still drawing her breath and cheeks flushed from effort and liquor, hair loose and ruffled, the folds of the white dress splayed out like petals around her as she sat propped back on her elbows. The prince halted his step and stood still, the only noise reaching his ears being the frantic beating of his own heart. He'd thought he'd spotted her earlier in the crowd, but hadn't been sure and even less hopeful. Yet now here she was!

And he knew, he _knew_ that he should stay away from her, retreat unseen in the shadows while he hadn't been spotted, carry his bad mood elsewhere and leave the little Flower Priestess alone and unspoiled in her joy.

Only, that was easier thought than done. In fact he found it quite impossible.

"Hello, Shiemi."

The blonde's heart fluttered at the sound of the familiar voice even before she turned and saw the exorcist, casually leaning against a pillar, hands in his pockets. The colorful lights of the lamps brought out even more the otherworldly, perfect whiteness of his face while the shadows of the columns seemed to shroud his black-clothed figure, such that he looked like a nightly apparition more than ever. If she hadn't seen him before in full daylight, Shiemi would have had a hard time believing he was a man of flesh and bones, as it was.

"Rin!" She cleared her throat a bit, knowing enthusiasm was better harnessed in these circumstances. They were away from the main crowd, but still… "I didn't expect to see you here, at the festival…"

Exorcists were not known for attending festivals and she'd not seen anyone from True Cross presented among the participating Orders, but if he was from a noble family… She took a better look at his clothes – indeed they looked neatly cut and of a fine, almost silk-like fabric, but their full blackness made them simple and unpretentious, something to be appreciated.

She shrugged, a bit awkwardly. "I just needed to rest for a bit and… I kind of got lost."

Rin smiled. "Oh, you didn't get lost, the party is over there. But it's quieter here, I guess…"

"So… uh… I suppose you are here with your wife?" the petite Priestess asked innocently.

The prince barely held back a grimace at the mention of Shura and the thought of what he'd seen earlier. All he could do was nod and shrug reluctantly, she had a point.

"Yes. But for now she is… otherwise occupied," he said quickly, waving his hand in dismissal. "She has other interests, I mean-…" The demon boy stopped, wondering if what he'd just said sounded weird or… But Shiemi only smiled at him and this brought a sense of relief.

"I see. Well, um… it's a great party, I guess?"

"Yeah…" Rin came down and sat on the stone steps, next to her, and the blonde suddenly noticed that his shoulders were somewhat stiff and there was an odd awkwardness in the way he held his gaze intently trained on the bright lights in the distance. "Shiemi…" he whispered softly, unexpectedly. "I have been trying very hard to… to do the right thing. I-I mean… to not do the wrong thing, but I-… I can't. I can't stay away from you."

Shiemi flinched slightly, then let out a shaky breath. Just… all the sudden, out of the blue-… She was doomed. She was falling. The exorcist had just spelled out her undoing.

"Then don't."

For a long moment the young demon prince was completely motionless, able to do no more than breathe in and out and swallow down the lump of pure fear which was now choking him.

What had he just done?!

 _The worst._

But this was fate, cruel, unforgiving, unstoppable and his fingers reached out absently and touched Shiemi's, cold and moist like raindrops. His face turned and gaze shifted slowly towards her face, meeting deep green orbs reflecting the same dark desire, mixed with awe and anticipation.

Barely daring to draw a breath, Rin lifted his hand from hers and half-cupped her jaw, letting his thumb ghost over her lower lip. Some of the red paint rubbed off on it and the prince took it to his mouth, briefly tasting the sweet, flavored paste. Shiemi saw a glint of sharp teeth as the demon boy grazed off a bit of red from his own lip, sighing softly before he finally leaned in and pressed his mouth against hers almost shyly.

The blonde drew closer, reaching out to tangle her fingers in Rin's hair, giving the luscious raven strands a bold tug. "My God, you really…" she whispered against his lips."You're… _real_ …" With feverish impatience, her hands moved from his hair to the sides of his face, neck and shoulders, touching as if to convince herself.

Rin found himself feeling everything much too sharply, beyond the increasing heat of his own body, so much so that for a moment he feared that his flames were about to come out. He could feel his own pulse racing madly as he pulled Shiemi into his lap and pressed her tiny body closer to his own, eager to feel her fully, guided by instinct, overwhelmed by the multitude of wonderful but still unfamiliar sensations, the hot inside of her mouth as he slipped his tongue in, the peachy smoothness of her bare arms and back, the firmness of her lean thighs on top of his.

"Rin, my soul is already damned," Shiemi breathed, pulling away a bit."So please… don't hold back."

She leaned in again and kissed the demon boy, first on the tip of his nose and then on the mouth, her lips resting there as her fingers found and undid the buttons of his velvet jacket. The prince flinched slightly when she first pressed her palm flat against his bare chest, right above his heart, before exploring down his torso and he didn't even know when his own fingers hooked under the straps of Shiemi's dress, sliding them off her shoulders. The silk top slipped soundlessly in her lap and Rin's lips left hers to trail butterfly kisses along her jaw and chin, then down on her neck and-…

He paused his ministrations when Shiemi slumped comfortably against his chest with a soft moan, effectively pushing him flat on his back, and remained pretty much motionless afterwards.

"Shiemi? Wha-…" Rin asked softly, propping himself up on one elbow and brushing the ruffled strands off the blonde's face, but the only reply came in the form of a sleepy groan.

"Ahhhhhhhhh…."

Suddenly, the demon boy's mind cleared and a cold shudder of fear ran down his spine as the heat of their making out began to dissipate rapidly. This had been very, _very_ wrong! Any momentary disappointment was quickly replaced by panic, Rin instantly wondering whether they hadn't been seen or… what if someone showed up now?! The state of their clothes was beyond denial, especially Shiemi's – her dress bunched up her thighs and her chest… well, he had tried not to look (and touch) too much, but… damn!

And now she was obviously asleep.

Rin sighed, pressing a soft kiss into her hair and deciding not to wake her – she looked so cute snoring softly with her round, doll-like mouth slightly open! Only, instead of walking her home, now he'd have to carry her.

"Pffft!" The young prince sighed again, sitting up fully and fixing both their clothing as best as he could, then standing and scooping the petite Priestess in his arms bridal style. She only stirred to settle better against his body, her head nestled comfortably in the crook of his neck.

 _If Koneko sees me now, I won't be able to look him in the eye as long as I live…_

Like a thief carrying its loot, the demon boy sneaked out of the palace and into the crowded city beyond its walls, making his way swiftly into the Temple District nearby. There were plenty of people still out in the streets, joyously sharing food and drinks, especially drinks, so no one paid a young boy with a girl in his arms any attention. Everything went smoothly, until Rin was finally faced with the closed (and anti-demon charmed) gates of the Flower Temple.

"Now, let's hope Tatsuma Suguro doesn't kill me," he grumbled morosely, reaching out for the door bell.

 _ **To be continued**_

A/N – yes, yes I know what your main complain is regarding this chap, but this is a T-rated story, my friends.


	12. Chapter 12

**CHAPTER 12**

A/N 1– Hello my dear readers! It's been a long time, I know, but guess what, I finally got to take this story off the temporary hiatus it has been in as of late. Ever since I saw the first episodes of the new Blue Exorcist season (Impure King Arc – and this is one BIG coincidence in terms of what I'd already planned, plot-wise!) I've been feeling a new wave of inspiration and also, taking into account that in our little poll this story ranks second after 'Age of Astaroth', there you have it – I will be working on these two with priority in the upcoming period. *cough* and let's just hope to God I don't start anything else *cough*…

A/N 2 – I must also clarify something beforehand, because you'll probably be wondering about it in the future and I know that the summary is a bit misleading in this respect, but from this point onward expect some more focus on Rin and his complex family drama, because there's a lot to explain and unfold. Do not worry though, Shiemi will not be left in the shadows and there's so much drama coming up for her as well, because hell… we live for it ;) There, now's all sorted. Enjoy!

* * *

Dawn was breaking when Rin stumbled back into the palace, after laying a sound-sleeping Shiemi into her bed at the Temple. He literally stumbled because his body felt giddy and his knees weak from the night's excitement and ultimately the genuine fright of laying eyes on an inscrutable Tatsuma Suguro. 'I found her asleep on the steps…' he'd stuttered badly, motioning to the petite blonde in his arms, tucked much too comfortably, and the Head Priest had only graced him with a small smile in reply, before showing him the way to her room. He'd said nothing, asked not why the prince had himself bothered with the task when there were so many servants who could have done it, had not even said 'I know you're lying.'

Would she be in trouble now?! Rin didn't think so, _hoped_ not, dreading the idea of having to involve Konekomaru again in order to solve any potential mishap and thus subject himself to the little priest's silent judgment after he'd sworn that nothing was and nothing would ever be between him and the Flower Priestess. And now what? Essentially, nothing had changed after this night, even if Shiemi seemed to have given in to these feelings in spite of their obvious wrongness, could it be possible that she would ever… accept the idea of becoming the prince's second wife?

 _Oh right, that's another thing… I kind of… not even told her who I really am._

After she'd been so horribly tormented by a demon, how could Shiemi now agree to _marry_ one? And not only had he not told her the truth, he'd also sort of _outright lied_ about it, under the cover of the exorcist assignment! Rin scowled morosely at the thought, his already dim hopes for a happy conclusion fading even more.

"Well, yeah, I lied because… I'm a demon and demons tell lies," the demon boy grumbled to himself, creeping along the wall in the dark corridor towards his chambers. "But I'm funny… I think. And… I like to cook and I'm good at it. No, that just sounds sinister! Whatever, I don't really have any qualities, but marry me anyway…"

' _Were you not all teeth and claws with Shura from the very beginning? Are you nice to anyone? Do you think you deserve anything else? Do you think that a sweet, loyal and loving girl would deserve your bad temper, your poor manners and your horrid tantrums? Hmm?'_

Rin snorted in annoyance remembering Mephisto's words (and he really hated when the King happened to be right about something!), but stopped dead in his tracks upon noticing a small form sprawled out on the carpet in front of his door. Squinting in the semi-obscurity, the demon boy realized that the form was no other than his little servant, who for some reason had ended up in a heap on the floor. Indeed, white robe dirty and badly creased and glasses askew, Konekomaru Miwa was fast asleep, snoring softly.

"Hey, Koneko!" Rin said gently, squatting next to the boy and resting his hand on his bare shoulder. He wasn't carrying anyone else to bed this morning.

"Kiss me again…" the petite monk mumbled with eyes still closed as he shifted and reached out for someone unseen.

'Could he be drunk? It was the one wild party of the year, I guess…' Rin wondered, pursing his mouth and pulling the monk up into a sitting position, torso propped against his knees. Maybe Koneko too needed carrying after all. But then the smaller teen opened his eyes, glassy and unfocused, and looked up at the prince uncertain, with an expression which kept Rin on the edge of panic for a brief second.

"S-She kissed me…" Koneko whispered, tiny fingertips flying up to feel his own lips in awe. Some drunken Priestess of Inari, Rin gathered, with a tinge of sadness nevertheless."Master… I'm… I don't feel too well… and I think I don't want to be a monk anymore," he said.

Poor Koneko, so brutally confronted with the temptations of the world outside the restrictions of his order. Most likely, it was just the fatigue and possibly the liquor someone had slipped him talking, but the prince still couldn't help imagining the Head Priest back at Miwa's home temple going through the roof in anger. He sighed loudly.

"Come on, Koneko, let's get you to bed now," the demon boy said gently. "You'll feel better if you lie down on something softer instead of the floor-"

"You know, it's always baffling to me how you can be all flaming rage one moment and turn into an absolute Mother Goose in different circumstances," Shura observed, having approached form the opposite direction without her husband noticing.

Rin scowled instantly and glared at the princess openly. Her clothing looked pristine, jewels in their place and her fiery-red hair was swept back tightly, with no signs of disarray, as if she'd never been touched by as much as the softest breeze, but he knew she was coming from Mephisto's apartments.

"Yeah, just as baffling as it is to me how you seem to be a gracious fairy princess but then turn into the absolute Queen of Trolls the very moment you open your mouth!" he snapped back, ignoring Mephisto's warning to behave and much to the redhead's amusement.

She stepped closer to take a look at the little monk, just as Rin scooped the boy up in his arms, because his own legs were clearly out of the question for now. "Is he drunk?"

"Of course he's not drunk, how can you say that? He just ate something weird," the demon boy said quickly, kicking the door to his chambers open with his foot. Suddenly he was uncomfortable under Shura's scrutinizing gaze, fearing her intuition. And he wasn't exactly wrong, because-

"So, what's going on?" the princess asked, eyebrow quirking as she leaned against the doorframe, blocking his path. There it was. "You disappeared awfully quickly last night, did you go somewhere?"

 _She cannot know what happened, no way?! She was with Mephisto the whole time!_ Rin remained stubbornly silent, lips pressed into a tight line and determined to deny everything until the bitter end and Shura sighed, looking away.

"Is this about Yukio?" she asked tentatively, fortunately on the wrong track. "He's your twin brother, you should talk to him. You should try to fix this, it's been going on long enough."

"Yukio is fucking in love with you, how am _I_ supposed to fix this?! What could I possibly say to him to appease him about the fact that it's me who's married to you and not him? Any ideas?!"

Shura sighed again, eyes resting pensively on the little monk's face as he'd fallen back to sleep in Rin's arms. At length she peeled away from the doorframe and circled the prince, coming to wrap her arms around his waist from behind and murmur in his ear.

"Rin, only now I've figured this out… It's not our marriage, it's _the secret_ that's burdening you, it's the pretending, the lie you have to keep up for the rest of the world. That's why you feel so miserable and even avoid your old teacher, Shiro Fujimoto. But Yukio is your brother, he will understand to keep his mouth shut if asked. What I mean is, you should just tell him the truth. Tell him exactly why it _couldn't_ be him in your place."

Saying that, the redhead let go and walked away with light steps, while Rin proceeded to carry Koneko inside and slam the door shut in his wake. Little did he know that soon enough, there would be no need to do as she'd suggested.

* * *

The scorching summer day passed in the daze left in the wake of the night's wild celebrations, and sunset found Rin lounging lazily on the sunny terrace above the rose garden, stretched on the same low sofa on which he'd spent the entire day, drifting in and out of sleep and strange dreams. He felt too worn out to even go back to his chambers and face what would be a very awkward moment with Konekomaru, if the boy was awake at last and aware of what had occurred in the state he'd been in. Of course, Rin was convinced it had been just a mishap and he wasn't one to point fingers, but the little monk was bound to feel excessively guilty and apologize extensively and the demon boy was in no mood for comforting anyone right now, all the more since the mere thought of Koneko also brought back Shura's words.

' _You should just tell Yukio the truth. Tell him exactly why it_ couldn't _be him in your place.'_

Rin felt a tinge of dread, Shura only spoke like that because she didn't know Yukio at all. His younger twin had been a quiet, obedient and studious child and had grown into the wise, erudite teen who was bound to make the royal family proud, but Rin knew the glowing embers under that calm, cool surface and didn't even want to imagine the wildfire they would erupt into if Yukio were to discover the truth – the King using the woman he was in love with as his private toy, in secret or not. He wouldn't understand that Mephisto would have probably married Shura Kirigakure if marriages between pure-blooded demons and human had not been strictly forbidden and also that Shura probably loved Mephisto and she had been far from forced into this situation.

"Rin. I thought I'd find you here."

The young prince flinched violently at the sound of the voice he hadn't heard in a while, painfully missed and dreaded in the same time, and his eyes opened wide to see Yukio stooping over him, his face against the light and his blue-green eyes dark behind the black-rimmed spectacles.

"H-Here?" the older twin asked sheepishly, pushing himself up on one elbow. Just below the terrace there were the steps where he'd made out with Shiemi and horror swept over him instantly at the thought that Yukio might have seen them. That would have been the absolute worst!

"We have to talk," said Yukio in the same cool but hard tone, his face composed and unreadable. "Something happened last night and I… accidentally witnessed it."

Rin sat up fully this time, white as a sheet and feeling like he couldn't breathe all the sudden.

"I wanted to go back to my room early, because I don't care much for parties of this sort, in fact I quite detest them," the younger twin went on, oblivious to the change in his brother's expression. "But as I was heading there, away from the crowd and all, I saw Mephisto slipping into a side corridor, together with… Lady Kirigakure. And I thought it was peculiar… " At this point Yukio paused and his voice began to shake. "Because he was holding her waist and I… I followed them back to his chambers, where there was no one, not a single servant, and they looked so much at ease with each other and it sure looked like it wasn't the first time and then, just before the door closed, I saw him kissing her on the mouth…"

Yukio had dropped in the seat as he was speaking, eyes lowered and shoulders hunched and looking not so much angry as hurt and baffled above all, and Rin's gaze dulled and he allowed himself to exhale loudly. Stupid Mephisto, he was so careless! But at least his brother looked like he'd kept the discovery for himself for the time being.

"You will keep your mouth shut about this. You will not tell another soul – not even Father Fujimoto! – and especially you will not think of confronting anyone about this either," the older twin said in a low voice.

The bespectacled teen looked up brusquely, throwing his brother a shocked glance. "You don't… look surprised…?"

In the back of his mind Rin knew that maybe he should have pretended to care, just a little, to try to look like he hadn't been keeping a dirty secret from his twin brother for the last three years, but he simply lacked the energy for that now.

"What do you want from me, Yukio?" he said instead, and it came out bored and insensitive, but Yukio needed a rude awakening to finally open his eyes to the harsh reality around them, where all the idealistic concepts Shiro Fujimoto had drilled into their heads and hearts amounted to nothing.

"What do I-… she's _your wife_! You… you knew?!"

Rin drew a deep breath and looked away, the sun setting in the distance beyond the white walls of the city. At least this wasn't his doing, he'd kept his word until now and couldn't be blamed.

"Yukio, you must understand that Lady Shura Kirigakure is and has always been _Mephisto's woman,_ that's why he brought her here in the first place. She never came to my bed and the only reason why he married her to me and not you is that you would have made a terrible fuss about this whole thing and he wasn't planning to share her with anyone either. Are you satisfied now? Will you finally stop hating me for 'stealing your happiness'?"

Yukio's face was ashen. "Rin… I never hated you, but I was just… Why? Why didn't you tell me that your marriage is a farce?!" He let out a deep sight that almost sounded like a sob. "I take it that he's sworn you to secrecy, but you could have at least told me, you could have trusted _me_!"

"Because you were so riled up that you wouldn't have believed me anyway, not until proof was given to you," Rin murmured. "And in the end it wouldn't have-… it doesn't solve anything for you. She's still married to me and we can't do anything about it."

He heard Yukio's sharp breath, but didn't turn to see the tears brimming, ready to spill on his brother's cheeks.

"She loves him, doesn't she? Mephisto, I mean…"

'What the hell do I care, Yukio!? I just want a fucking divorce!' Rin wanted to shout, but in the end couldn't, not when his brother rested his forehead against his shoulder and his fingers reached shakily for his own.

 _ **To be continued**_


	13. Chapter 13

**CHAPTER 13**

A/N – Hello everyone! Okay so I made a status of my ongoing work as well as the much-advertised chapter planning and noticed that I'm SO DAMN BEHIND with this fic!(I don't know if I already mentioned this before, I probably did and don't remember… pfffft). So here's an update you guys and be warned, things are going down the drain for my favorite sweet cat ;) Enjoy!

* * *

A few days had passed already and Rin was getting restless – he'd kept wracking his brain for a way to send Shiemi a message inconspicuously, to know whether she'd gotten in any trouble or not, to let her know how happy he was, leaving out the fright which came with the excitement of course, and above all to tell her that he wanted to see her again, soon!

Koneko walked in silently just as the young prince was sat at his desk, staring at the blank piece of paper on which he'd failed to lay down any words to the little Flower Priestess for lack of inspiration. It proved for the best however when the petite monk appeared unexpectedly by his side, startling Rin with the awkward vibe that emanated from his stiff posture.

"What?" the demon boy asked, barely keeping exasperation from his voice and anticipating that some heavy apology was about to come his way. Again.

"Master, Lady Shura would like to see you," the monk said instead.

"Okay…" Rin replied, absent and relieved, but the servant wouldn't budge. "What, now?"

"Yes, master. Uh, she's still in her bedchamber and her maid said that she was looking rather ill…"

'She can't be ill' Rin wanted to say, opened his mouth to say it, only to realize in the last moment that yes, Shura was human and humans did get sick upon occasion and in this event it was his duty to see her cared for. His shoulders sagged and his spirits dampened at the thought that finding a way to communicate with Shiemi would now have to wait. But the longer he waited… things could get cold between them? Shiemi might think he'd forgotten her? She might think he'd only sought a fleeting moment of fun? If only he could speak with someone about this, with Father Fujimoto for example, he would understand and advise… except the priest could not – _nobody else_ could – be told the truth about his marriage. At least Yukio had made the discovery on his own and Rin could not be held responsible for divulging anything.

He padded down the marble corridor which was already hot in the morning sun, having hurried out of the room and away from Konekomaru's questioning glance. Even before meeting the little Flower Priestess his job at pretending he was happy with the impositions of royal life was hard, but now it burdened him more than ever.

Barely a breeze floated into the large bedroom through the curtains, not enough to soothe, and the young prince walked up to the bed where Shura still lay, despite the late hour, a bit pale in the face but with a strange smile on her lips nevertheless.

"Are you not okay?" Rin asked awkwardly, fearing the answer. What was he to do, aside from sending for the doctors to examine her? Not to mention, despite everything, he cared about Shura, he knew she wasn't bad, they just… had a tacit agreement to annoy the hell out of each other or something.

"Rin," the redhead said softly, patting the mattress. "Come here."

The demon boy sat down circumspectly, but Shura stretched like a cat across the mattress and pushed him down on his back, bringing her lips close to his pointy ear. She smiled briefly upon noticing the anxious way Rin's tail tapped the mattress next to him, even if the rest of his body was motionless, then became serious again.

"Rin… I'm pregnant," she whispered, brushing a few strands off his forehead. "And I want you to tell Mephisto."

"Why?" the prince asked, more like gasped, eyes trained on the ceiling above and body stiffening further.

"Because I think he will be mad…"

Rin closed his eyes, feeling a sudden urge to shrug away from her.

"So he should be mad at me?" he grumbled, the horror of the implications fully sinking in. "Shura, do you realize what will happen? A demon cannot hide the paternity of their offspring to other demons! When the child is born, his wives will _know_!"

The princess only sighed and smiled at this. "He won't let any harm come to his child."

* * *

A little while later, still shaking from fright and anger, Rin stumbled past the two behemoths guarding the door of Amaimon's private apartments. It was an overstatement to say that Rin had as much as an acceptable relationship with his older brother, but the Earth King happened to be the most privy to Mephisto misdeeds and so he hoped… for something, _anything_.

"Leave us!" he ordered in a shaky voice to the servants who were busy refreshing the countless flower pots in Amaimon's chambers.

The green-haired demon was currently perched lazily on a large windowsill, one foot hanging down and the knee of the other supporting his chin, and he threw his little brother a bored glance.

"I… have a problem," Rin began, wondering if he should have employed any particular approach, it wasn't as if he was used to having this type of conversations with the Earth King.

"Do you?" asked Amaimon, disinterested.

The younger prince took a deep breath, running a hand through his hair. "Look, Amaimon, my wife… she… she's pregnant. With Mephisto's child!" He spoke the latter words in a lower voice.

"Are you sure?"

"Very!"

Amaimon's eyes widened. "I really didn't want to know this shit!" he snapped.

"Well, it will come out eventually anyway, it's inevitable! And when it does, it will blow up in my face like you've never seen!" the brunet replied defensively. "I told Mephisto just now and he laughed in my nose, I swear he even looked thrilled at the thought! How can he be so relaxed?! He broke the law!"

"No, he didn't," the Earth King said. "The law is that a pure-blooded demon cannot _wed_ a human, children are another story. Children happen, look at you and your brother."

"But what is the po-"

Amaimon rolled his eyes. "The point is not to give a human the _status_ of a pure-blooded demon's spouse, they are beneath us! That's why Father never married you and Yukio's mother, you know?"

Rin made a sour face, somehow he'd known this was bound to happen, this _topic_ always came up. "Fine, it doesn't matter! But you know, Mephisto's blasted wives will not view this as open-mindedly as you do, in fact they will look for someone's head to rip off and obviously, it will be me, because I've known of this arrangement all along and kept my mouth shut!"

"So you did…" agreed the Earth King, thoughtfully grazing his bottom lip with a sharp black thumbnail.

"So what the fuck am I supposed to do now?!" Rin shouted exasperated, albeit having lost hope of getting any help.

"It's very simple, dear brother," Amaimon stated calmly. "For now, you will act all happy and excited, because you're going to be a father for the first time, and then when the truth comes out you will suddenly appear confused and hurt, you won't be able to believe, to comprehend what your dear wife has done to you. You will be so angry at her betrayal that you will even ask for a divorce. Of course, you won't get it, but at least it will look like your surprise is _real_. Do you understand?"

Rin blinked a couple of times, then scrubbed a hand over his face. Was this supposed to be _simple_? Until now he'd more or less successfully been faking a quiet content when it had come to Shura and their marriage, they'd been always smiling to each other and playing nice for the most part when others were around, but this… he just didn't have the guts to fake. He would probably fuck it up big time.

"I don't want to _be a father_!" he grumbled, mouth pursing in a pained grimace.

But this was coming, he should have seen it coming from the very beginning of his marriage. It had already been three years now and Rin may have been barely a child at the time, but eventually the court expected the couple to have children… And it could only have been Mephisto's children, as it were. And Yukio… he was already suffering, now it would only be worse.

"Well, technically you won't be," Amaimon observed dryly.

The demon boy rolled his eyes, huffing angrily. "Why the hell is he being like this with me?! He's not helping at all! If he knew… if he knew this would happen, if he fucking _wanted it_ , why, what was the point of this whole circus?! Why couldn't he make Shura his concubine instead of my wife?! His wives will know anyway! Everything will go to shit anyway!"

Amaimon didn't bother to answer this time and Rin knew the answer, he'd heard it countless times – a matter of politics and status. His head hurt and tears of anger and frustration were threatening to spill at any moment.

' _I want Shiemi to be my wife! But like hell she will want to be my wife if there's a child now… I want a divorce, now! I want a fucking divorce!'_

Brusquely, the younger prince turned on his heels and marched out of the Earth King's chambers, violently slamming the door in his wake.

* * *

Konekomaru was setting the table for the prince's lunch when Rin got back to his chambers, still pissed off as hell. Actually, no. He wasn't pissed off, more like he was exasperated, horrified! In the back of his mind, he realized that Amaimon was right and with a cool head and even cooler blood he could probably pull it off, play the innocent victim, but it was much too soon for the impotent anger pent up inside of him to accept the logical solution. Rin figured it was okay to pretend and tell lies as long as he really was or had been doing something wrong himself, it was right that he should deal with the tension and anxiety which came with it, but otherwise why?! Why should he put up with this shit?!

The demon boy sauntered casually into the room, trying to keep a cool face at least in front of his servant, but unfortunately Konekomaru read him right away.

"Master? What's the matter?"

Rin's gaze swept over the little monk, he was so fragile, so innocent, but Rin was going to need his help with this, even if the thought of involving him in the dark machinations of the court made his stomach cringe in guilt. He should have protected this boy he had been entrusted with, done everything in his power to keep him safe. And now…

"Lady Shura… Is she ill?" the monk pressed as his master was still struggling with his words.

Rin plopped down on a sofa and crossed his arms. "Koneko," he said ominously, "I have a horrible problem and you will help me with it."

The monk blinked, holding his breath and eyes widening behind the glasses.

"You asked me to punish you earlier," the young prince went on. "So I will, by sharing my secret with you. And you _will_ keep quiet about it." He looked up and saw that the other boy had paled. "Please trust me when I say that I'm not doing this out of cruelty, but because literally I don't know what else to do right now."

Koneko exhaled audibly, his expression betraying the fact that he was fearing the worst.

"My wife is not ill, she's pregnant."

"Oh… But what does that have to do with-…"

Rin pretended that he didn't hear that.

"My wife is pregnant with the King's child," he clarified coldly. "Do you understand?"

Koneko went and sat down gingerly next to the prince, still struggling to process what he'd been told and the implications of it. "But w-what… I mean how… I mean, uh, did you know-…?"

"It's old news, it's been like that since the beginning," Rin said dismissively, waving his hand. " _That_ 's not the problem. I don't love her. And we don't really… live together and stuff. The problem is that now it will come out. The King's wives will find out and it WILL be ugly…"

"But you've done nothing wrong, master!"

The demon boy nodded slowly, pursing his mouth. "I've done nothing alright. I haven't run to tell them what was going on, I haven't… kept my wife in check, I've basically been an accomplice to their affair the whole time. You know, a little before you got the job here, the King went to a secret party with Amaimon, somewhere in the suburbs, a wild party, with girls and all. When he came back and the wives discovered where he'd been they took out their wrath on Amaimon so badly that for two weeks he wouldn't leave his chambers and there were ten behemoths guarding his door! Now, _this_ is a little more than a party…"

Konekomaru was perfectly able to see past his master's attempts at keeping a cool demeanor – back at the Inari celebrations, before anything had turned into that awful blur, he'd seen the blonde Flower Priestess Shiemi Moriyama and he was quite sure that Rin had seen her too, there had been a new gleam in his eyes ever since that night and now this! He could almost hear the prince's heart breaking into a thousand shards.

"Amaimon says that I must look happy and genuinely excited until the child is born," Rin said after a few moments. "Which of course I feel anything but right now… But you'll help me, yes?"

The little monk said nothing, staring at the floor.

"You will tell everyone how happy I am to be a father for the first time, and anxious in the same time. And if I throw a tantrum or two, you'll say it's the nerves," Rin added and snorted ironically.

"And you're already thinking of baby names," Koneko added, struck by inspiration. "And if it's a boy you'll have a sword forged for him, and if it's a girl… uh… you'll… I don't know, I guess we'll have to think of something…"

"I will already think of kicking her future boyfriend's ass," the young prince grumbled, face buried in his hands.

 _ **To be continued**_


	14. Chapter 14

**CHAPTER 14**

A/N – Hello my dear readers! Looks like it's time for a new chapter (long time no update, pfftttt) and some more heartache because what is the purpose of an author's existence if not to troll their favorite characters? This being said, without further ado, enjoy!

* * *

"Remember, girls, you must be on your best behavior today," the older priestess reminded Shiemi and the other girl she had chosen to take with her to the palace. "You must show the princess all the courtesy and respect as appropriate for her rank."

The girls had been dressed in their best garments and fresh white flowers adorned their hair for the occasion – the Temple of Flowers had been asked to assist one of the princesses at the palace, who was currently pregnant and having a bit of trouble with her condition. And it wasn't that the royal family didn't have the best doctors, but the young Lady Kirigakure was pregnant with her first child and thus more inclined to take all precautions and seek counsel and reassurance from several sources.

Shiemi's heart beat faster at the mere thought of going back to the palace – even if there was nothing to be found there now – but the mere memory of the Inari Festival night brought butterflies in her stomach. It was as if she was waiting for something which was simply bound to happen, even if the following morning she'd woken alone in her bed, with nothing but a hangover and there had been no word from the exorcist ever since.

But something had happened regardless and could not be ignored – they had both openly, purposely crossed the threshold away from what was proper and lawful, fully confessing the guilty intent. Rin Okumura did not love his wife, he had never loved her and that thing alone was enough for Shiemi. Even if he couldn't leave this wife or just wouldn't because reasons aside from love dictated so, the petite Flower Priestess didn't care. He loved _her_ – it was spelled clearly in his eyes, in the vibe of his whole being – and that made her his woman. To him and him alone she would give herself body and soul from now on, no matter what.

The palace looked different now, white stones stripped bare of the red Inari decorations glaring in the full sun, but it was by no means less sumptuous. The marble of the floors and columns was spotless and gleamed like a thousand mirrors in the light and countless servants scurried around, going about their daily tasks. They all wore beautiful white robes and the woman who had come to greet them had several rows of precious beads adorning her neck. The older priestess made light conversation with the princess's lady-in-waiting while the girls merely glanced around in awe as they were escorted to Lady Kirigakure's private chambers.

Shiemi had not known what to expect of the princess and hadn't given much thought about it either, but as she laid eyes on the young woman found her nothing short of stunning. Lady Kirigakure was stretched on a plushy recliner, the folds of her light green summer dress spilling over the edge. Her hair was fiery red, tied up in an artistic pony tail with a silk ribbon and her bright eyes were like amethysts. It turned out that she wasn't suffering any more than the usual indispositions of childbearing, but wanted some natural reliefs and a blessing ceremony.

"Of course, we can do that right here," the older priestess replied with a kind smile."But we will need your husband to be present too."

"My husband?" For the briefest second, Shiemi spotted a shadow passing over the young woman's features, as if this request was somehow odd or out of place. But then her smile returned and she quickly motioned for one of her chambermaids to fulfill the priestess's request.

"If you think your husband would be opposed-…" the priestess suggested, since they'd been told that Lady Kirigakure was the wife of one of the demon princes.

Shura laughed. "Oh, oh no… he's not opposed. It's just that, you see, my husband is younger and these things frighten him a little."

"Well, it's only natural, being your first child and all."

Even if Shura could naturally handle this sort of situations a lot better than her little unruly prince, the lie they both had been forced to live for a while now was rearing its ugly head and beginning to take a toll on her as well. She would have liked the father of her unborn child by her side now, receiving the priestesses' blessing, for example. On one hand she would have liked to tell the whole world how happy she was that he too had smiled upon the thought of their union bearing fruit at last, on the other Rin wasn't a child anymore and wanted someone of his own, and to such a thing he saw her child – who would be _their_ child – as an obvious impediment. Things were probably far less dramatic than Rin was currently picturing them – any girl in the City would have done _anything_ to be chosen as his second wife – but this second wife would have envied her regardless as long as the truth had to be hidden from the court. Still, he would barely speak to her when they were alone. He was silently miserable.

And so the princess had asked the King to speak to his younger brother and soothe him, but unfortunately Mephisto could be as helpful as a boil in the butt upon occasion and had dismissed the issue as a futile tribulation of youth. The prince had specifically _not_ been required to be faithful to his wife. Why could he not find a mistress and enjoy himself? Being hell-bent on getting another wife was a bad idea anyway, the King's personal opinion being that wives in general were nothing short of horrible. Perhaps, Shura thought, also taking into account the younger Yukio's hopeless yet relentless love for her, Father Shiro Fujimoto had drilled way too many principles in the boys' minds.

Shiemi's eyes followed the princess's smile to a silk curtain which was being drawn aside, then to the black-clad person who walked into the room with no smile, bringing with them something akin to a gust of icy wind.

 _Rin._

The blonde stared, utterly perplexed by what she was seeing. Undoubtedly, the exorcist was there, right before her eyes, it couldn't have been a hallucination out of the blue, yet he looked so eerily, frighteningly different. 'My husband, prince Rin Okumura' she heard the princess say and for the first time Shiemi noticed how pointy his ears were, how flawlessly pale his cheeks against the raven black of his hair, how inhumanly blue his glassy, cat-like eyes, while a long, shiny and snake-like black tail hung behind his legs. And suddenly all the odd pieces of this tale of love and secrecy fell into place in the little priestess's mind because lo and behold, Rin Okumura was no exorcist.

He was a _demon_.

Rin saw her too and his face whitened even more as he stared, looking enthralled and horrified in the same time, his hand now limp in his wife's. His gorgeous, magnificent wife's, who would give him a beautiful son or daughter soon.

The blessing ceremony unfolded like a pantomime with no sounds, in a place where time had ceased to exist. Shiemi felt numb and slightly dizzy, as if she'd drunk a full glass of wine, yet her every motion was precise and graceful, her smile never faltered, her voice did not break as she chanted with the others. Her steps were calm and measured as the three priestesses eventually retired, once again guided by Lady Kirigakure's lady-in-waiting.

Only when they were again outside, on the marble steps bathed in glaring sun, her legs gave out and she collapsed like a flower with a broken stem, unconscious. Just like in little Chan's story book, the demon prince had taken her soul.

* * *

"I really liked the girls," Shura stated unsuspectingly. "They're quite nice and pleasant to be around. Don't you think?"

Rin's back was currently turned and she could not see the painful grimace on his face and his eyes shining with tears yet to spill. And in this moment more than ever Shura's words sounded poisonous to his ears and felt the urge to say something really mean in reply, but in the end he only bit his lip and struggled to show only mild bitterness.

"Rin?"

"Yeah. I liked them too, actually. I only wish I could have met them in different circumstances…"

"But you could, you know," the princess said with a shrug, taking a glass of water to her lips.

Rin turned to face her fully, gracing his wife with a blunt gaze. "Ha, priestesses may be pretty, but they're not dumb. Who the hell would want to spare me a second glance after you've flaunted me as your property?! _I_ sure wouldn't! Nobody in their right mind would want to see someone else's husband!"

"Oh, but you're wrong," Shura laughed. "I've been seeing someone else's husband for quite a while now and it's been hella fun," she pointed.

"Because he never had to hide the truth from you, the truth that he doesn't give a fuck about his wives!"

The redhead sighed, feeling an increased irritation at her young prince's stubborn petulance. It was as if he was purposely looking for reasons to entertain his unhappiness! "Rin, we just have to look happy in front of the court, you know? In the end the priestesses are just a bunch of ordinary girls, they have nothing to do with the court, so you're free to tell them whatever you want," she said, her smile fading. "You're free to tell them that you don't give a fuck about me. Hell, even tell them that this child isn't yours, if that makes you happy!"

* * *

Konekomaru walked hurriedly into his master's chambers, being instantly met with the sight of the various decorative objects which had been turned into grotesque piles of shards. He scowled and sighed deeply – at least nothing had been burned to ashes this time. Rin himself was curled up on a sofa out on the terrace and his face was ashen, tear-streaked, all traces of color gone from it.

"Master, Father Shiro Fujimoto is here," the petite monk informed. "It seems that the King has sent for him to talk to you."

The demon boy looked up numbly and confused, as if he were seeing Koneko for the first time. He blinked slowly, drawing a deep, shaky breath, like a sob.

"Well… I guess this is bad, huh?"

"Master, what on earth happened to you?!" Koneko whispered, leaning over with worry written all over his face.

Rin sat up and hugged his knees, his tail wrapping around his legs protectively. "What happened is that Shiemi Moriyama was at Shura's blessing ceremony today. She saw me there."

"But master, she knew that you are married… Didn't she?" The poor monk had dreaded something like this all along and now it had finally happened. The prince was suffering so much because of this impossible infatuation that he'd grown careless enough to not even hide it anymore. What to do?!

Rin nodded. "Yeah, she knew. That's not the point, what she didn't know is who I am and especially _what_ I am. And I never purposely wanted to deceive her or anything, I just thought… I didn't want her to be scared or… or uncomfortable… But when she saw me today, Koneko, she… " He paused, sniffing lightly. "… she looked so betrayed and disappointed and… frightened. As if I'd hurt her! It's not fair… She didn't deserve this."

"Well, maybe she was just surprised, since she'd mistaken you for a simple exorcist before," said Koneko, who had looked over his shoulder and noticed that Father Fujimoto had invited himself in. "Please, get yourself together! Father Shiro is here, you can't let him see you like this!"

Instinctively, the demon boy straightened his back and lowered his legs from the sofa, doing his best to smooth out his clothes. "Uh… I broke some stuff," he muttered apologetically. "My dear wife managed to piss me off again with a bad joke…"

The monk nodded. "I'll clean it up. Look, just say it was me if he asks anything. Tell him I'm clumsy, it was just an accident," he suggested, but Rin only rolled his eyes. As if Fujimoto would have ever bought something like that!

Rin took a deep breath, observing in silence as his former mentor sat down in front of him and smoothed the folds of his pristine black cassock. Shiro looked neither angry nor concerned (considering that he'd been most likely sent to scold him), even though he'd surely spotted the mess, he was oddly calm and the prince found this quite ominous.

"How have you been, Rin?" the priest asked casually, but still watching him with a keen eye.

The demon boy mustered a small smile, shrugging as he sunk in the backrest of his sofa, trying to look relaxed and carefree. "Uh, great… I, uh…" he faltered a bit, observing Shiro's unconvinced expression. "I mean I've kind of been a little nervous lately…. Shura keeps worrying me and stuff."

"She worries you so much that you want a divorce, eh?" Shiro asked, almost amused.

Rin stiffened, eyes wide. "I-I don't-"

"Rin," the priest began gently. "I might have spent my entire life cooped up inside that monastery, but I have seen my share of happily married young people. There's a special glow about them, a certain brightness on their faces, the light of pure joy… So I couldn't help noticing that all this time, ever since _you_ were married, you've been carefully avoiding me so that I wouldn't see you constantly looking like the sky has fallen on your head."

The young prince averted his gaze, at a complete loss at what to say.

"You know, it doesn't take much to crack little Miwa. I'm afraid that I squeezed the truth out of him," Father Fujimoto confessed. "Please, don't be angry with him, he's a good child and only means well. Your secret is safe with me, I will not tell another soul." Rin relaxed a bit, but said nothing. "It wasn't such a surprise anyway," the priest went on. "You were only thirteen when you were wedded and your wife is much older, it could hardly have worked between the two of you, even without the deal between the King and the Kirigakure clan."

The demon boy snorted. "They were careless enough to be seen by Yukio too."

"And how has he taken it?"

"Not as bad as I thought he would… But at least he doesn't hate me anymore. It's a relief, I guess…" Rin straightened his back and took a deep breath. "Okay, so what did Mephisto tell you? What am I doing wrong this time?" he wanted to know. Better get to the point.

Shiro sighed and stood from his seat, coming to sit next to his former pupil, laying a gentle, warm hand on the boy's shoulder. "You haven't done anything wrong yet. But you must be careful, because the King has a suspicion."

Rin cringed inwardly, a pained scowl creeping onto his face as he still didn't look his mentor in the eye. What could Mephisto be aware of?! Had he been more worked up as of late, or in a way far unjustified by circumstances?!

"… a suspicion?"

"Yes, a suspicion that there's _someone else_ , someone you care about enough to turn everything upside down for."

 _ **To be continued**_

A/N – OMG. This is… a great story of true love (and not the worst syrupy thing ever). Why did I…? Nevermind. I am finishing this, you guys, and you have no idea just how bad it's actually going to be :)))))))))))))


	15. Chapter 15

**CHAPTER 15**

A/N – Hello everyone! Why do I feel like I haven't updated his in a million years? Hmm... Probably because I'm as faithful as an incubus when it comes to my fandoms and my plots (my penname should be Plotbunny36 or something suggestive of my infidelity ;)))))) Anyway, guys, a big hug to all of you still reading this, your support makes my day every single time and it's much appreciated! That being said, enjoy today's update (because more drama and angst is coming your way :P).

* * *

 _ **Warning**_ : _mention of suicidal thoughts_ _and suicide attempt (in a way)_

Little Chan slipped from behind the curtains into her big sister's room, observing the older girl work on something with her back turned. The blonde had been unusually quiet ever since the day they had visited the pregnant princess at the royal palace and she'd passed out under the glaring sun, having to be carried back to the Temple by one of the royal servants. Ever since, her face had been pale and the bright smile gone from her lips, she was withering day by day and Chan watched all this with growing worry, getting no answers aside from brief glimpses of Tatsuma Suguro's sad frown when he thought no one was looking.

Shiemi's numb fingers were braiding a small round garland of fire-orange lilies, the bright color of the petals appearing dulled to her clouded eyes. For now every waking minute, every movement and every single step felt as if walking through deep, murky water. She was lost in a nightmare, where days were suffocating in their emptiness and the nights painfully tender with dreams shrouded in blue flames scorching her very soul.

Because despite the horrid revelation, every fiber of Shiemi's being loved the _demon_ Rin Okumura, wanted Rin Okumura, even if there was nothing left to hope for.

It was not dread the priestess felt at the thought of what he was, not the slightest fear in the face of the truth, but the endless pain brought by the now acute awareness of the insurmountable gap between the two of them. Rin wasn't just a man married against his wishes, he was one of the demon princes and his wife… while it was true that Shiemi had registered the cold vibe between the prince and the princess, a drop of resentment even, she was nothing short of magnificent – one of the most beautiful women the blonde had ever seen – and she was _with child_.

And that was the end of it. The young priestess could not bear the thought that she'd almost come between a man and his family, regardless of anything else that unborn child was innocent and hurting them would have been an unforgivable sin on her behalf.

"Big sister, what are you doing?" the petite brunette asked cautiously, frightened by the frailty she instinctively intuited in the other, as if a louder or less gentle word would have been enough to shatter her.

The blonde set the finished garland atop a bronze tray filled with baked rice mixed with spices and fruits and let her hands drop numbly at her sides as she stared blankly at the offering.

"What's all this for?" Chan insisted. Back in her small village, she had seen the neighbors give offerings to the gods when her mother was on her deathbed and a sudden wave of dread nearly brought tears in her eyes. "Why are you preparing an offering? Are you ill?!"

Shiemi finally turned with a sad smile and knelt in front of the little girl, laying gentle hands on her small, bony shoulders. "No, Chan, I'm not ill. But I am heartbroken and stumbling in the darkness and only the gods can decide now what will happen to me. I will put my life into the hands of the Impure King."

* * *

Konekomaru ran down the corridor leading to his master's chambers, the message delivered by his friend Ryuuji Suguro burning his palms. By the gods, when had his life become such a whirlpool or intrigue, secrecy and danger?! He loved the young prince he was attending to, but never had the little monk imagined that Rin would eventually prove such a handful! Never!

He rushed inside the prince's chambers, hoping with all his heart there were no unwanted visitors in sight, and discovered the demon boy curled up in bed next to his Sidhe cat familiar, Kuro, which was currently in its large form, allowing its master to rest almost nestled in the folds of its soft fur.

The animal kind of scared Konekomaru whenever it was this size, despite its actual harmlessness, so he remained at a safe distance as he finally spoke, waking the young prince.

"Master, a rather urgent message has arrived for you… from the Head Priest Tatsuma Suguro," he said tentatively. "Ryuuji brought it earlier."

Rin jumped up as if burned, all traces of sleep instantly gone from his face as he reached out to snatch the small folded paper from his servant's hand.

"He… asks to see me," the brunet whispered, all color draining from his cheeks. "He wishes to speak to me…"

The little monk flinched. "W-Well, you're the prince, he cannot-… I mean, you don't have to go if you don't want to!"

"But what if something happened to Shiemi?!"

"Master, it will look suspicious! I know Father Fujimoto was here for a reason, even if you wouldn't tell me why! Do you want to get into trouble?! Someone might ask questions!"

Of course. Rin realized that much himself, but not heeding the priest's request would have made him look like a coward. Like he'd done something foul and now was shying away from responsibility, and he couldn't do that. And what if something bad had indeed happened and Shiemi needed him?!

"I will say that I went there to make an additional offering for my wife's pregnancy," he muttered unconvincingly. "After all, she did summon the priestesses here a few days ago, didn't she? The King should be pleased even – it will look like I'm doing something, that I'm excited about the child and stuff!"

Even as he spoke, Rin knew it was all just nonsense, Mephisto wasn't that stupid. If he already had a suspicion, then he'd put two and two together already and the young prince would only confirm it now. But still, what was he to do?! He would put the King's fears to rest face to face if he had to, afterwards, since it wasn't like Shiemi would ever want to see him again after… after finding out the truth. It was pretty clear to Rin that things had been messed up between them in a definitive manner now.

* * *

It was almost noon and the scorching sun was at its peak, glaring white over the smooth stones of the city, but the Temples District was in pleasant shade thanks to its abundant, adorning vegetation. The heat of the day was much dimmed here by a gentle breeze caressing the flowers and leaves, carrying the sweet, soothing aromas of Mother Nature, but the demon prince could only think that this small piece of Heaven was the only place Shiemi Moriyama belonged to and she would have been so happy here too, if only he hadn't been so selfish as to poison her life with deceit.

He was almost apprehensive of meeting Tatsuma Suguro, who was still and calm as a rock and who had said nothing the night Rin had brought a sleeping Shiemi back home from the Inari Festival, with what must have surely been a guilty look on his face. The Head Priest had said nothing – because Rin was one of the princes – but he must have thought the worst. And now, he _would_ probably say something, he would _eventually_ say something, because the truth had come out in all its ugliness and all etiquette aside, Tatsuma Suguro could not stand to see one of his protégées get hurt.

The brunet threw a quick glance back to where Konekomaru had remained, waiting anxiously near the gate, before following the servant who, despite Rin's simple black clothes, led him ceremoniously to a secluded back garden where the Head Priest was waiting for him.

If Tatsuma Suguro had doubted that Rin would heed his request and was surprised in the slightest, he showed none of it. His round, aged face marked with wrinkles here and there was unreadable beyond the light, brief smile of greeting he offered the young prince.

"Welcome, Your Highness," he spoke softly, with a small, inviting gesture. "I must apologize and hope that my request has not troubled and disturbed you too much."

Rin had stopped at a safe distance from the priest, stiff and with his arms crossed defensively, worrying his bottom lip in a childish manner.

"It's no trouble at all," he replied in a low voice, fighting the urge to squeeze his upper arms even tighter. "What's the matter?"

"Well, Your Highness, you see… the problem is that I never quite learned how to go about certain matters with the due delicacy or elegance, as you might say, and you will have to forgive me for that," the priest began cautiously. "It is about Shiemi Moriyama that I must speak to you, rather urgently, I'm afraid." He paused, clasping his hands behind his back and taking a deep breath. "This morning she has left the temple and I was told that she went to give an offering to the Impure King."

The demon boy gasped audibly, eyes widening. " _What?!_ Why would she… give an offering there?"

In a deep, dark cave hidden by a large waterfall running down the steep mountain slope right beyond the city walls was the layer of the infernal one called the Impure King, a mighty demon feared and revered since ancient times, and believed by some – by a foolish few though – to be godlike and worth making offerings to in hopes that their desperate pleas would be heard. But rumor had it that no one had ever returned from the stone-carved altar built at the very entrance of the cave and that there were countless whitened human bones lying on the bottom of the pool below.

"Well, what she said to her little sister was that the gods should now choose whether she should still go on living in this world, but…" Tatsuma Suguro sighed, bowing his head. "Your Highness, that is where people go to die. And a poor old man like me has no say, if this is indeed her decision or if her time has come, but I love her as a daughter and I can't bear to see her perish way before time! Please… Maybe it's not too late! And I believe that she will give up such dark thoughts… she will live, if _you_ ask her to."

Rin closed his eyes briefly, crushing unshed tears under his eyelids. Still, one escaped and ran down the side of his cheek and he wiped it hastily, taking a small step back. "You… you must think the worst of me," he murmured, eyes trained on the spotless, smooth mosaic on the ground.

"No, Your Highness," the priest said gently, drawing closer. "I know it was you who saved her, I know it was you who had her brought here, where she belongs-"

"But you also think I did that so I could later make her my mistress," the prince said bitterly. "I never did that, I swear to you! And I also… I told her almost everything about myself except… except _what_ I am. Because I was afraid that she'd be frightened, and disgusted, and-…" He shrugged helplessly, wiping more tears with the back of his hand like a small child. "And I was right, in the end."

The priest said something in reply but Rin did not hear it, in the next moment he turned on his heels and walked away briskly, breaking into a run as soon as he was out of the old man's sight - there was no time to waste. Without offering the petite servant as much as a brief explanation, the demon prince had taken to the roofs as soon as he was out of the Temple premises - he would move faster this way, jumping from rooftop to rooftop unnoticed by the people below. Still, there was a long way to go and if Shiemi had left in the morning, then she must have gone quite far by now.

* * *

At the foot of the mountain there was a thick strip of forest and the blonde priestess halted for a bit under the foliage to draw her breath, looking up the winding stone staircase leading all the way to the altar above. The thunderous rumble of the waterfall could be heard from here, a promise of much needed coolness after the unbearable heat of the city which had left her feeling faint. The straw basket with the prepared offering had numbed her arm and her legs were weak from the long walk, yet Shiemi eventually forced herself up the stairs, muscles aching from the strain, the long white ceremonial dress sticking to her legs and impeding her every step.

If asked, she knew not what she hoped for in this moment. There were no clear thoughts she could work out, no definite idea of the deliverance awaiting at the end of all this toil, but she was tired, exhausted with pain and longing, and just wanted to sleep… just sleep and forget it all, leave everything behind – the memories of cherished things long lost, the torments of her short life and the brief, stolen moments of happiness that she had been undeserving of. If the gods willed it, everything would go away and she would find peace in oblivion, in the still, merciful abyss of nothingness.

By the time she reached and walked down the flat but dangerously narrow path of rock leading to the altar and the cave, shadowed by the powerful curtain of water, Shiemi's legs would barely carry her and every labored breath burned her lungs, but up here the air was pleasantly cool and a fine spray of water drops were soothingly reaching her face and bare arms.

The Flower Priestess laid the basket on the altar and slipped down on the moss next to the humid lump of rock, its elaborate carvings smoothed out and worn by time, burying her face in her hands. Now there was nothing left to do but wait.

She felt the demon's presence before actually turning her head to lay eyes on him directly, on the stain of darkness that _he_ was, absorbing all light and nuances into that one shape that was both beautiful and terrible. There was an unmistakably pained scowl on the prince's face, his cheeks slightly flushed from effort, his arms crossed and his tail swishing nervously.

"Shiemi… don't do this," he said, in a voice so low that it was almost a whisper.

The blonde scrambled to her feet and retreated towards the protective shadow of the cave, shaking her head with a small, sad smile when the prince moved forward swiftly and gripped both her wrists.

"Let me go… Rin, let me go. It's no use, it's-"

Her words were suddenly drowned by a deep, growing rumble which erupted from the bowels of the mountain, very soon turning into a distinctive growl overpowering even the noise of the waterfall – the Impure King had awoken, smelling its prey.

 _ **To be continued**_


	16. Chapter 16

**CHAPTER 16**

A/N – Hello, my dear readers! Yes, I am hopeless. There, I said it. And _that_ being said, again I will express my gratitude to all of you who still follow this fic and promise not to eventually disappoint you. For I know not if you'll find this amazing or horrible, but at least it won't be bland. There are only two chaps left – there, spoiler! – so let's up the drama, because lukewarm sugarcoated endings just aren't worth it, right? Oh, what the hell am I saying… Enjoy!

* * *

The growl and rumble were growing louder and louder, pebbles trickling down the walls of the cave as the ground began to shake slightly, yet Shiemi still felt drawn towards the darkness, deeper into that gaping mouth of hell, away from the accursed love she was so desperate to escape.

"SHIEMI! I CAN'T LET YOU GO! I CAN'T LET YOU DIE!" the demon prince shouted over the nearly deafening noise, but she barely heard him. Even so, it was no use. He was faster, stronger, and Shiemi couldn't fight him off when Rin wrapped his arms around her fragile body and pulled her back, towards the exit.

The ground shook even harder now and whitish clouds of foul-scented, suffocating smoke erupted from the depths of the cave, engulfing the pair and impending their retreat.

"It's no use, he'll catch up with us!" Rin shouted again, releasing her. "I have to make him back off! Stay here, please!"

Shiemi caught a glimpse of the stone altar at the entrance of the cave through the smoke that now nearly blocked out the daylight. It was really close actually, the blonde figured, before registering what Rin was saying. _Make him back off? The Impure King?! But surely-…_

"Rin! Y-You can't fight the Impure King!" she pleaded weakly, pulling at his arm now and realizing in horror that she'd put the prince in danger. If only he hadn't come here! What if something was to happen- No! "He's much too powerful! I know that you have flames, but-"

But the prince only turned to face her briefly, his lips curled into a bitter smile. "You know nothing," he mouthed, hand descending to the hilt of a sword Shiemi hadn't noticed that he was carrying. The sheath was so artfully concealed into his clothing that when the slender katana came out, it seemed to emerge from his very body. Blue flames engulfed both the blade and the demon prince's whole figure in a violent outburst, a gush of hot air whipping Shiemi's cheeks and bare arms and making her instinctively stumble backwards, arms flying up to protect her face. And they were nothing like the soothing, azure light she remembered, no longer beautiful but downright horrifying as they licked the rugged stone walls and chased away the smoke.

The blonde turned away from them, away from the scorching heat, her groping hands meeting the smooth, damp stone of the altar and clinging to it absently as the mountain shook even harder and the growl turned into a furious roar. A cracking sound accompanied it brusquely and Shiemi felt the stone floor she had knelt on beginning to crumble.

In the next moment, she was falling, a loud scream torn from her throat as she did.

The pool at the bottom of the waterfall soon welcomed her flailing arms and legs in a cool embrace, drawing her into its soothing depths in a whirlpool of water and crumbled stones.

* * *

The little Flower Priestess had been lucky to escape with just a few shallow scrapes and cuts from the falling stones, having passed out from the shock of the fall. After fishing her out of the water, Rin had carried her inside a smaller cave on the edge of the pool, which was relatively safe, about a hundred feet below the monster's lair. Above, the rumble was slowly dying down, the brusque disappearance of his intended prey eventually making the Impure King withdraw back into the bowels of the mountain.

Still, the noise must have been heard many miles away, the fumes visible from the City and Mephisto was sure to hear of it. The altar was destroyed too… This was bad - Rin thought – _really bad_ , even worse than burning down Mephisto's stupid statue, he'd really done it this time, probably enough to earn him some more time in _D_ _as Stärkste Gefängnis._ This wasn't the worst, though, no, the worst was the lack of a suitable explanation. Now, the King would put two and two together at last if he hadn't already, he would figure out for sure who was the person Rin cared about enough as to try to turn everything upside down, as Shiro had put it.

The demon prince pulled away from Shiemi almost apprehensively as she began to stir at last, now wondering with growing dread whether he'd really saved her or-…

The blonde opened her eyes slowly, the return of her senses bringing with it an unsettling feeling. She sat up on the damp moss carpet covering the rocks and instinctively tugged at her soaked dress which clung icily to her skin now.

"Wha-… what happened…?"

"I pissed off the Impure King," Rin stated matter-of-factly, with a grimace which looked almost childish, worrying his bottom lip. "There will be punishment for that…" he muttered, more like a personal conclusion.

Shiemi looked up at the demon as he stood a few paces away, profiled against the light coming from outside, and brushed off some wet hairs from her face. She was small and cold and broken and it would have been better if he'd just used that wicked blade to slice her throat open.

"What's the point?" she whispered weakly. "Why did you save me?! This is nothing but a lie, it cannot be, nothing is true."

Rin drew a sharp breath, gaze lowering to the ground. "I'm sorry, Shiemi. I just… I couldn't tell you…" He paused briefly, shrugging with a helpless air. "… _what_ I am. I couldn't bear to see you frightened, or disgusted, or-… or looking at me like you did the other day. But I swear, you have nothing to fear from me. You'll never have to lay eyes on me again, _I swear_! I just want you to live… Please."

The petite priestess stepped forward slowly, her face still white as a sheet and bearing a wry, heartbroken smile. "Rin, I don't care that you're a demon. You never did anything to hurt me. You're not in the wrong… but I. I knew from the start that you were not mine to dream of, yet I dared it anyway. I cared about nothing, not about your wife, not about shaming my brothers and sisters at the Temple, but now my sin has been spelled out for me - you're a prince and I sought to turn you away from your family and your duties. How can I still be deserving of life after all this?!"

"There is no one but you, Shiemi, I love no one but you…" Rin smiled sadly, and she suddenly saw tears running down his cheeks. "And I just wish I could fix this… this horrible mess."

And right there, before the blonde's eyes, the demon prince dropped down on this knees and wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing his cheek against the damp fabric of her dress.

"Shiemi… I need you," he murmured. "Please, don't push me away!"

Shiemi's fingers descended into his hair with a will of their own, treading gently through the wet raven-colored strands. She was weak. Weak and a hypocrite, because despite everything, she still wanted him. "But Rin… your wife is _with child_." And there, even as she spoke those words she still stroked his hair, she still let his hands hold her close, still allowed herself to feel Rin's warmth against her body.

"Shiemi, my marriage is a hoax and the child my wife carries is not mine. But I must pretend that it is. That it's all true, that we're happy, that we're a real family. It's my duty, I have no choice," Rin blurted out, voice shaking slightly. "But you can't-… no one can find out about this."

 _Not yet, anyway…_

"Rin…"

"I'm telling you the truth, I swear!"

The demon's large blue eyes had a pleading, almost desperate look about them as Shiemi disentangled herself from his embrace and knelt down in turn, reaching to cup the side of his face. She sighed softly.

"Rin… what exactly are you asking of me? You've said it yourself – you don't have a choice in this. What do you think we could-…"

The brunet bit his lip awkwardly, inwardly wondering just how many times can someone fuck something up. Of course, he knew what he wanted, but saying it out loud was another story entirely. And that was simply because, all nervousness aside, it sounded _bad_. He didn't think Shiemi believed him anyway – _he_ for one wouldn't have believed any of it, not after his lying already! – and now 'second wife' was like… well, it just sounded half-assed and Rin buried his face in his hands, unable to say it after all.

"Rin, let's go back," the petite priestess said gently, standing up and holding out her hand for him. "If you want me to, I will live – I promise you. I will do whatever you ask, but for now you must go home."

* * *

"Honestly, what is this incredible fuss about now?!" Shura asked, tiredly. "What's all this nonsense about the Impure King and so on?"

The redhead stepped out on the sunbathed balcony stifling a yawn and proceeded to plop down on the pillows next to the demon King of Time who – truth be told – had a horrible timing. Like now, when she'd really needed to take a nap after a bit of a rough time feeling sick and all that, and Mephisto suddenly had something urgent to discuss.

"Shura, my lovely flower, my _true_ queen," the green-eyed demon began sweetly. "I must say, it wouldn't hurt for you to be more observant, you know?"

"What do you mean?" Sure, the princess already suspected what this was about, since anything… _explosive_ usually had something to do with her unruly little husband and his volcanic tantrums, yet for what she was about to hear Shura was awfully unprepared.

"My sweet," Mephisto said, "A short while ago you asked some young Flower Priestesses to perform a ceremony for our child," he pointed, hand descending lightly onto the redhead's belly bump and resting there affectionately. "I suppose that, when those lovely girls visited you, you failed to notice that Rin is in love with one of them, didn't you?"

Shura stared at him, absently poking the inside of her cheek with her tongue. "…what? No, I… But he'd never seen them before! And he was particularly pissed upon that occasion and accused me of flaunting him as my property when I joked that he could have some fun with them."

"Well, why do you think he said that?" the King inquired smoothly. "Of course he was pissed, you blew up his whole scheme! You don't suppose he'd told her about the child, or about you for that matter. I believe he hadn't told her who he was, _period_."

Shura's hand flew up to cover her mouth and she shook her head, scowling. "Ohhhh, damn it! Damn it, Meph! How was I supposed to know?! I really didn't want to ruin Rin's… little fling or whatever this is! I really want him to be happy, Meph, just like we are! If only he had told me…"

The demon rolled his eyes. "Shura, my love, you misunderstand. This little priestess – the one he helped during his penitence work, actually - is not _a little fling_ at all, what Rin really wants is to divorce you and marry her."

" _Marry her_?! But he's only fifteen!"

"Well, he was thirteen when he married you. And besides, she's the same age as he is."

"Because that wasn't for real, Meph! He's much too young to handle a _real_ marriage!"

Mephisto waved his hand in dismissal. "As if a real marriage could actually be handled…" he observed dryly. "Anyway, that's hardly the point – what he wants is out of the question. There will be _no divorce_. And there is _no way in heaven_ I will let him marry some nameless priestess, second wife or not. Not now, anyway. He can have as many girls as he wants, but this is way too blown out of proportions, as I'm sure you understand."

"So, speaking of _blowing_ … what happened this time?" the princess asked warily, a headache beginning to creep up on her slowly but surely. Now everything suddenly made sense – all of Rin's increasing moodiness and brooding that she'd found peculiar, all that sneaking out, all the drama. Damn, she should have known!

Mephisto sighed melodramatically. "Well, that girl discovered who he is and all the rest and decided to put an end to her misery by offering herself to the Impure King. Rin went to save her and all hell broke loose, as you can imagine."

"So… what exactly do you… I mean, what am I supposed to do now?" Shura inquired.

"I cannot say as of now, my precious. I only came to warn you," the demon King replied. "And to ask you not to intervene."

* * *

For the first time in his life, Konekomaru was truly, horribly frightened. Gripped by the deepest of terrors.

Shortly after the prince had left him at the Temple and gone off the gods knew where without a word, the petite monk had watched in horror as the King's guards had surrounded the place and how later on, upon his equally mysterious return, the guards had arrested Rin on the spot on the King's orders. They had not taken anyone else, but still, Konekomaru had seen in this his worst fears coming to reality.

The King had finally discovered what was going on – the servant was sure of it. In the end, just as he'd anticipated, this unfortunate passion had made Rin way too reckless and indiscrete to keep it under wraps, not even with Father Fujimoto's open warning. And now there would be punishment and Koneko was more afraid for the prince's fate than his own. After all, what could he have done to prevent any of this? Rin had quite directly expressed to both the King and his wife his discontent with his marriage, his desire to get a divorce and his worry that Shura's pregnancy would end up blowing in _his_ face first and foremost, it wasn't as if some occult plot had been going on, with the little servant as part of it.

No one paid him any attention as he rushed down the hall, eager to find out what would happen now. The petite monk didn't seem to matter to anyone so maybe he should run away? But then… go where? Even if he'd had the heart to leave Rin behind, what temple would give him shelter under these circumstances and was there any place where the King's guards wouldn't find him if they were ordered to?

Mephisto was sitting slumped on his large throne in the almost empty Council hall, looking down on his half-sibling with an air of irritated boredom and if he noticed the prince's servant sneaking in and hiding behind one of the thick pillars, he did not show it.

"So, little brother, did you have a good day at the pool?" he inquired, motioning towards Rin's clothes, which were still damp in places. "Let's hear it – is there any explanation you'd like to grace us with, considering all this… incredible mess you've caused? _Yet again_ …"

For obvious reasons, the King had decided not to make a fuss out of it in front of his whole court, so only Shura and Amaimon had been asked to attend. Rin's younger twin, who was a rare sight around the palace on principle had also been warned by Shura and thus Yukio had come too, rather to Mephisto's concern. The young scholar of the family was a different sort of pain in the ass as far as the King considered, but a pain in the ass nevertheless.

Koneko stole a glance at the prince's face and saw that look of stubborn determination he'd grown to dread over the years. Rin wasn't going to apologize in the least, if anything he would probably give some cheek to his older brother too.

"The Impure King was about to devour someone, again," Rin stated. "Do you know how many people he has eaten since… since the beginning?! And now Tatsuma Suguro asked me to save the life of one of his protégées who had naively gone to make an offering there. And it was someone I've saved before and it would have been a waste to-"

Mephisto, who was examining his nails, halted the younger demon's words with a firm flick of his wrist.

"My dear little brother, do you really, _honestly_ believe that I spend my days with my head stuck in my ass? Do you believe that you can do stuff behind my back and I won't find out? Or perhaps you imagined that I would rely on that little monk to keep informed of what you're up to and as long as he was on your side you dirty little secret would be safe? Hmm?"

"But I don't-"

"The Impure King is a _god_! And yet, you dared disturb him, have his sacred cave damaged and his altar destroyed and all for this stupid infatuation!" The green-eyed demon straightened his back and his fingers curled menacingly against the armrests of his seat. "I thought we already had this discussion! I get it – you're not happy with this arranged marriage – and that's why no one asked you to be faithful to your wife, but if you think I will allow you to _defy all tradition_ and _break all the rules_ for that mistress of yours, you are sourly mistaken!"

"She's not my mistress," Rin nearly whispered, white in the face. "I care about her… and I just wanted her to live. I-Is that so much to ask…?"

"Yes! Thanks to your unprecedented antics, it _has_ become too much to ask!" Mephisto snapped. "I can't allow you to have any reasons to behave in such out of control manner! I will not have you causing more problems than you already have!"

Suddenly, Rin felt dizzy and cold. A strange numbness took hold of his limbs, it was hard to breathe and to form thoughts. The King would… no. No, he couldn't! He couldn't hurt Shiemi… he couldn't hurt her… and _he_ couldn't let it happen.

' _Even if he was the King, Satan had to bear the punishment for marrying a human woman. For this, he had to go back to Gehenna, never to return, and he was only allowed to stay long enough to see the birth of the two of you. Unfortunately, he also got to see Yuri breathe her last shortly after… He couldn't take it, so before disappearing for good Satan carved out his own heart with his blade and gave it to the monks to bury it inside Yuri's grave. And now they both sleep, bound in death as they could not be in life…'_

Rin had not understood back then why Shiro would choose to tell him and Yukio such a terrible story, even making the younger twin cry. But he knew now – such was a demon prince's love and it couldn't be but accursed.

"Y-You don't have to hurt her," the prince stuttered, again barely whispering, his eyes oddly glazed now and his face ashen. "Everything is _my_ fault, I was the one who… lied to everyone, who deceived and pushed an innocent on the brink of madness, I was the one who broke all the rules and disobeyed you. But I will not… cause you any more problems… brother. Forgive me."

All Koneko saw was a brief, wicked glint of metal and the King's eyes widening in shock, before his master's body collapsed against the tiles, lifeless, pale fingers still curled around the handle of the sword that was now halfway stuck into his chest, and Yukio screamed.

 _ **To be continued**_

Yes, I did this. I really did.


	17. Chapter 17

**CHAPTER 17**

A/N – Hello, my dear and ever-patient readers! I can't believe that it's been more than a year and a half since I've started this fic and, as with all my 'grand' projects, I have dragged it around to no end, all the while promising myself that this is the last long fic I'm doing (until the next one *rolls eyes*) and procrastinating and... well, you know how it works. It's no excuse, I know. That's why I am so grateful to you guys for still sticking to this, for all the support and amazing feedback you've given it, it really means the world to me as an author. That being said, enjoy the final chap ;)

* * *

A strange, unfamiliar glint of gold met Shiemi's sleepy eyes as she opened them slowly after the long, troubled slumber she'd been prey to for many hours. But still, the previous evening she had gone to bed in her little room at the Temple, after tucking Chan into her own cot and reassuring the little girl that big sister would not go anywhere now, that big sister would not leave her again.

This was definitely not the Temple, though. Had she been snatched from her bed without waking? How was that even possible?! The little priestess now lay on a soft mattress covered in crimson silk and the gold shine all around came from the thin golden bars surrounding it on all sides. It was actually a _cage,_ like a bird's, just big enough to contain a person comfortably (and not any less sinister for that matter, though!).

Stifling a yawn, she sat up cautiously and flinched upon noticing the figure leaning against the outside of the bars behind her, acid green eyes studying her with hardly concealed interest. _The King_ \- Shiemi realized - because unlike the other demon princes who had remained hidden to the eyes of most subjects, the chalk-white, sharp-nosed but still strangely beautiful face of Mephisto Pheles, the King of Time, was known to all and beyond any confusion.

"Y-Your majesty…" the blonde breathed out, drawing backwards almost inconspicuously, her eyes glued to that figure which was both mesmerizing and shrewd.

The King _knew_ , that much was evident; his very gaze spoke of it, if the bars weren't proof enough. But if he was angry, there was no indication to that, or maybe such a small nuisance wasn't even worth the royal anger? Maybe he would just pass judgment coldly, fleetingly, as if waving off a fly from his face…

"I can see why my little brother loves you," Mephisto said neutrally, tilting his head a bit. "You are so… _pure_ ," he added with a sudden sigh and in a fashion which made it clear that it was far from being a compliment. "And I suppose that you love him as well, don't you?"

Shiemi inhaled sharply, eyes widening at the question. "I-I know that I'm not worth-"

"So you do love him," the King stated. "And it's not that much a matter or worth… but do you really _know_ Rin? Do you have any idea of how horribly complicated he can be? Of the awful tantrums he throws often and out of the blue? Do you know the full extent of what he's capable of, I wonder? That, I don't think you do."

The blonde lowered her gaze in her lap, shoulders hunching further as she fisted her fingers in the simple, grey-white linen dress. Why would the King say such things, and to her of all people? Rin was still one of the princes, above all common mortals and short-tempered as he may have been, he was still the most wonderful person Shiemi had ever known – wonderful in his bravery and kindheartedness, wonderful even in his imperfections and vulnerabilities.

"To be honest, before yesterday's unfortunate events, I had merely intended to study you, to assess if you'd make a suitable concubine and even, perhaps, a second wife for my little brother," Mephisto stated, shaking his head. "I am not unreasonable, you know, and would break no hearts if it can be helped. But Rin has really done it this time and I'm afraid that my generous plan is no longer possible."

At least he did not speak of punishing Rin, Shiemi thought, not thinking much of the rest. Because if it came to that… she couldn't bear the thought of her loved one suffering because he'd only wanted to save her-

"Punishing him would be kind of hard now," the King said, as if reading her mind. "Since he drove his own sword through his heart. As it is, I only have you to take my wrath out on, little priestess."

Shiemi's body jerked upwards suddenly and she stood on shaky legs, clutching and squeezing the bars until her knuckles went white. "Rin is… Rin is _dead_?!" she asked breathless. "You don't mean-… you can't-…"

"Well, a demon doesn't die that easily, so he's not dead per say, not _yet_ at any rate… But he is trapped between life and death and unless he is somehow awoken from this slumber, he will pass away eventually. That is why you are here, and still breathing," Mephisto replied, thin sharp-nailed fingers gripping the blonde's chin through the bars and tilting her face upwards. "I don't care what you do, as long as you succeed to bring my unruly brother back, because this little syrupy and completely blown out of proportions drama bothers me to no end. If you fail, I will spare you no longer!"

Was there… still some hope left then? Was he still… only _on the brink_ of death?

Shiemi was limp in the hands of the servants who came to get her out of the cage after the King had walked away with soundless steps, like a nightmare departing from someone's bed at the break of dawn. A frightful pain had nestled in her chest, and she couldn't even cry it out, as if a thin but unforgiving layer of ice had covered her whole body, impeding breath and slowing movement.

She recognized the little monk Konekomaru Miwa and was finally told that he was in fact the prince's manservant, before he proceeded to explain in further detail what had happened, the state Rin was currently in and where the body was kept, all the while his tone cool and carefully void of any emotion, his head bowed and his eyes refusing to meet hers. And all Shiemi could do was nod her head absently, wishing he would scream, hit her across the face, do anything it spill his pain onto the one who had taken his master away from him, anything, _anything_ but this mute blaming masked by humble politeness!

* * *

"Mephisto made her seem like a shrewd seductress, but she's really not-… I don't know," Yukio said, arms crossed as he stood leaning tensely against one of the corridor pillars, observing the small approaching group.

"She's just a child, Yukio," the red-haired princess sighed, pulling at the black dress which was much too tight for her swollen belly. "And it's not her fault, please, never think it was her fault… It's mine. I messed this up," she went on, scrubbing a hand over her tired face and brushing away a few fiery strands falling onto her pale forehead. "I was so caught up in my own things that I paid no attention to your brother's feelings. He too is just a child and I… I just expected him to handle it. Damn, I expected Meph to handle it too, but not like this… I am so sorry! I am so sorry, Yukio!"

"It's his fault, Mephisto's!" the bespectacled teen snapped through gritted teeth, his hand reaching out to grasp his loved one's. "Everything is _his damned fault_!"

Shura smiled bitterly, cupping her new husband's flushed cheek with a tired hand briefly before pulling away and crossing the servants' path.

"Wait!" the princess ordered, making the small group halt their steps. "I need a word with her, alone," she asked, motioning with her head towards the petite priestess, and waited for the others to step back.

Shiemi simply remained motionless, staring at the ground numbly, her lips parted slightly, as if each breath was torment and Shura cringed, her heart breaking at the sight of the helpless girl, and all the soothing words she'd prepared in her head slipped away, scattering into nothingness. The only thing she could do was to reach out and stroke the other's pale blonde strands with gentle fingers, before leaning in and whispering into the priestess' ear.

"Rin loves you, please believe it. And he was never, ever unfaithful to you."

* * *

The demon prince's body lay on a simple, low bed draped in white linen and even if it didn't have the rigidness of a human corpse and his head was tilted slightly to the side, as if in sleep, there was still something sinister about the whole display which made Shiemi cringe and nearly shredded the thin sliver of hope she was still holding onto. Because _seeing_ him like this was far worse than just being told, worse beyond the power of her frightened imagination.

And how much time did he have left before crossing the border between life and death and being lost forever?! The King had not said, so what if-...

The petite priestess padded over to where Rin lay, her steps numb with dread, and collapsed onto her knees on the cold stone floor and hands reaching for his. And the fingers she now gripped with all her strenght felt cold and thin, like a sick child's, powerless, as if they could have never wielded a sword.

"Rin, _why_ …?"

But she knew why, she had rejected the prince. Not so much with words, even less with deeds, but still… Shiemi had tried to be the voice of so-called reason where he'd seemed to have none, to do the _right thing_ when she knew nothing of righteousness! To do the will of the Gods, she'd lied to herself… but this very love was the gift of the Gods and she'd pushed away their gift.

 _And this is my punishment_ … _How can I undo this?!_

She cared not for the King's threat, for if Rin could not be brought back what point was there for her to go on living?! This time there would be no doubt, no wondering about it – Shiemi could not go on with her life with the knowledge that someone had taken theirs because of her. No amount of penitence could atone for it!

"Rin… what can I do?!" the blonde murmured, pressing her forehead helplessly against the cold hand she was holding. "I was a fool… I was wrong! Wrong! Even if I knew that there was never any choice for me but to burn in your flames… So then, burn me! I don't care anymore, I'm yours, I'll just do everything you want, please! Please, just wake up!"

Caught up in her desperate plea, Shiemi failed to notice the figure creeping up into the empty room silently and eventually coming to sit beside her on the floor.

"You know, what my brother really wanted was to get a divorce and marry you instead," Amaimon spoke slowly, arms resting onto his crossed legs and his expression neutral, almost bored when the priestess flinched and turned brusquely to face him. "And they failed to mention it to you, but now that he's… _like this_ , his marriage to Shura Kirigakure is undone. There's no more ring on his finger, it has been passed to his younger twin, Yukio and cannot be taken back, not even if he wakes up. It's because _he chose_ to do this, you see."

Shiemi blinked, uncomprehending of what this prince demon she didn't know was saying.

"I-I don't understand what you-…"

"It's very simple, my brother is free to marry you now," the Earth King stated bluntly. "And it's what he wanted, so maybe this could make him wake up, if nothing else."

"But I'm just-…" The blonde drew a quick breath and exhaled loudly, still clutching Rin's hand in both of hers. "I'm a nobody! The King would never agree-… He would be furious if that were to happen! Surely, he would never-"

Amaimon sighed, chewing on his thumbnail. " _Surely_ , he will make a fuss about it, but all this mess," he replied, waving a sharp-nailed hand in the general direction of his half-brother's body. "Is his fault. If he hadn't insisted on having his way with everything and hadn't made stupid threats… Not that Rin isn't enough of an idiot himself, but still. But perhaps you do not wish to marry him?"

"Oh, I _do_ want to, but…"

The Earth King shifted and pulled a small, thin dagger out of his belt, which he promptly offered the priestess. "Then do it. Demons have a very simple marriage ceremony, I will show you how. Here, run the blade over the pad of your right thumb, then press the bleeding wound down Rin's forehead and nose to mark him. And just say 'Now I take you as my husband'."

"T-That's all?! But… it sounds so… _one-sided_?"

"It is. When demons want something, they simply claim it." Amaimon explained, as if pointing out something obvious to a small child. "Normally it should be him doing it to you, but now we'll just do what we can. I was told it works either way."

Under the prince's expectant gaze, Shiemi gripped the blade with trembling fingers and drove it quickly over her skin, barely feeling the sting and almost surprised at the surfacing crimson drops and despite everything a faint blush still made its way across her white cheeks when saying the words and smearing her blood onto Rin's face.

The next few minutes passed agonizingly slow and the blonde nearly held her breath, eyes fixed on the prince's pale and motionless features, almost not daring to hope for the moment his chest would start to rise and fall again and his eyelids would flutter open. But it didn't happen and in her slowly creeping dread Shiemi felt her body growing heavier, colder, needles of ice seeping into her limbs and pulling them towards the ground.

"I think… I'm-…" she breathed out, slumping forward over Rin's body and finding it impossible to keep her eyes open any longer.

" _AMAIMON! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!_ "

The King of Time rushed towards the bed, but when he touched the petite priestess' shoulder, she was already out cold.

* * *

There was warmth. The very distinctive and soothing warmth of someone's body pressed against her and something else, like rays of sun caressing her face. And it smelled strongly of roses, bringing to mind the image of proud tall stems and regal, richly colored petal bundles gracing a sun-kissed garden.

Shiemi shifted slowly, the spell of sleep dissolving from her body and allowing awareness to return, and when she at last opened her eyes noticed that she was currently stretched on a soft sofa outside, in full sun, her head nestled in Rin's lap.

"…Rin?! What-… what's happening?"

The demon prince flinched in surprise at the sound of her voice, looking down, his large blue eyes reflecting something of a wary awe. "I don't know, but I heard some yelling earlier and that's never a good sign." He sighed, stroking the blonde's strands gently. "Shiemi, I really-…"

"I'm sorry! But Amaimon said it was the only way to bring you back!" the priestess said, sitting up brusquely and washed over by a wave of dizziness. "I-I don't know what happened, though…"

"I'm not sure, but I think that I took some of your vital strength in order to recover, and you passed out. You were out cold when I woke up and there was no one else around. So I brought you out here, knowing how much you like gardens," he replied, gesturing to the expanse of vegetation visible beyond the white marble railing. There were so many roses! "But at first I really… I mean I thought the worst, especially when I saw the bloodied knife…"

Shiemi licked her lips nervously, trying to guess what the demon boy was thinking, but his still chalk-white face remained unreadable. What if he was mad about this? He was alive again and this was what really mattered, anyway. And if he was, they could get a divorce. It wasn't anything irreparable, or was there?!

"Are you mad at me, Rin? For the… because I married you without asking?" she mumbled, suddenly horrified against all previous reasoning. "Are you going to throw a tantrum?"

The prince's eyes widened and he fought back a fleeting scowl before leaning forward and pulling Shiemi into his arms. "Shiemi, I love you! And I will protect you no matter what, now. No one will take you away from me," he whispered, kissing the petite's priestess's hair, before reaching down in search of her lips.

 _A tantrum, eh? I wonder who said that…_

 **THE END**


End file.
